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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 







THE MYSTERY 

OF THE 


TWIN RUBIES 



THE MYSTERY OF THE 
TWIN RUBIES 


BY 

ARMSTRONG LIVINGSTON 

it 




NEW YORK 

MOFFAT YARD AND COMPANY 
1922 



COPYRIGHT, 1922, BY 
MOFFAT YARD & COMPANY 


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PRINTED IN THE U. 8. A. 


FEB -3 1923 

©C1A698160 

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CONTENTS 


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£ 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. His First Butler 1 

II. Some References 15 

III. Enter Sidney, with Difficulty .... 29 

IV. Maybelle of the Revels 45 

V. Mr. Bronson is Firm 63 

VI. McKittrick’s Ruby 79 

VII. In the Night 95 

VIII. The Switch-key 107 

IX. Sidney Leaves Town 125 

X. The Detective 141 

XI. Julia Shaughnessy 155 

XII. Strictly Confidential 171 

XIII. Peters Gets a Shock 189 

XIV. Introducing T.B.H 207 

XV. Exit the Minnedinker 221 

XVI. News of the Ruby 239 

XVII. A Clue to the Thief 257 

XVIII. Betsy Belle’s Whisker 273 

XIX. The Arrest 291 

XX. The Ruby’s Destiny 311 


v 



THE MYSTERY OF THE 
TWIN RUBIES 


Chapter One 
HIS FIRST BUTLER 

M R. JEREMIAH BRONSON, of the firm of 
Bronson and Bartlett, real-estate brokers, 
opened a copy of the New York Herald upon the 
desk in front of him and ran a thin, nervous finger 
down the column of “ help wanted ” ads. until he 
found the one he sought. He nodded his satisfac- 
tion, and was just engaged in refolding the paper 
when he heard the heavy footfall of his partner 
approaching from the next room. 

“Good morning, Jerry! ” said Mr. Bartlett. 

“ Good morning.” 

It was really three o'clock of a warm afternoon 
in June, but as it chanced to be the first time the 
two had met that day they, automatically, used 
their customary greeting. 

[ 1 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


Bartlett dropped into a chair beside his partner’s 
desk with more decision than grace — he ran to 
fat — and gave a sigh of relief as he drew a hand- 
kerchief and mopped his red, good-natured face. 
He had one of those curious-shaped heads that are 
almost pointed on top, thereafter slanting down — 
and outward until they finish in broad jowls, and 
the same architectural scheme was carried out on 
a larger scale by the next division of his body. His 
shoulders were by no means broad, so that his sides 
were obliged to run out at an amazing angle in 
order to encompass his magnificent girth. As he 
sat there, his short, plump legs scarcely reaching the 
floor, it was easy to see why his friends and busi- 
ness associates good-humoredly referred to him 
among themselves as “ The Bartlett Pear.” 

“ The Murdock deal is closed, Jerry,” he an- 
nounced, and added after a slight pause, “ They put 
up a noble struggle, but eventually gave in at our 
figure.” 

Bronson swung around in his chair, beaming 
approval. 

“ Thanks to your hard work and good judgment, 
Henry,” he exclaimed cordially. “ I congratulate 
[ 2 ] 


His First Butler 


you on your success — and myself on having such 
an excellent partner! ” 

“Tut, tut, Jerry! ” responded Bartlett, getting 
a little redder. He noticed the newspaper that lay 
on the other’s desk, and quickly jumped to a less 
embarrassing subject. “ By the way, what’s the 
news? I have not had a minute to look at a paper.” 

“ Nor have I. When you came in, I was just 
looking to see that the Herald had not forgotten to 
run an advertisement of mine for a — for a 
servant.” 

“ Huh ! ” Bartlett betrayed amusement. “ I know 
that’s the main occupation of you poor suburban- 
ites. Which is it now — cook or house-maid? ” 

“Er — neither. We’re looking for a butler.” 

“Oh, excuse me/” The Bartlett Pear regarded 
his partner with some admiration. “ By gracious, 
Jerry, you are going it strong! Is this the effect of 
prosperity upon yourself, or is it the effect of the 
Claredale atmosphere upon Mrs. Bronson? ” 

“ It’s mostly Mary,” admitted Bronson a little 
sadly. “ Not that I don’t agree with her, of course,” 
he continued hastily. “ Most of the Claredale crowd 
live as they consider that Claredale folks should 
[ 3 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


live, and have butlers, so as long as we’re going to 
live there we might as well fall into line.” 

“ I see. . . . Are they a pretty nice bunch? ” 

“Why — I don’t know.” Bronson was mildly 
surprised, and showed it “ I suppose so, but I 
haven’t really given much thought to it. The Eng- 
lish are the best, I expect, though the Japs have 
always appealed to me as being quick and intelli- 
gent— ” 

“Excuse me, Jerry. I wasn’t asking you about 
butlers ; I sought your opinon of those society stars 
to whom you have just irreverently referred as the 
‘ Claredale crowd.’ ” 

“ Oh.” Mr. Bronson smiled faintly, and caressed 
the top of a head that was becoming gray in some 
spots and distinctly bald in others. “ I find them 
very nice — very nice indeed. Our welcome to Clare- 
dale has been most — hospitable. Mary is look- 
ing forward to a delightful summer of being enter- 
tained — and entertaining. Hence the butler.” 

“ Mmm. Well, it will be a fresh experience for 
you,” he ruminated. “ I suppose a man’s first but- 
ler must be like his first silk hat, or, as it was said 
of Caesar’s wife — above suspicion.” 

[ 4 ] 


His First Butler 


“ I dare say,” returned Bronson without enthusi- 
asm. “ I remember I hated mine.” 

Bartlett chuckled, and rose from his chair. 

“ By the by, Jerry,” he said more crisply. “ You 
have the letters in the Graham matter; if you’ll 
give them to me I’ll skip around to the old boy’s 
office.” 

Bronson immediately delved into the mass of 
accumulated papers that littered his desk — a desk 
that no one of a dozen generations of stenographers 
had ever been able to keep in order, for the senior 
partner antedated the business era that thrives 
and flourishes upon elaborate filing-systems. He 
paid the penalty now as he ran through pile after 
pile of documents, and finally began pulling out 
drawers. 

“ Got it ! ” announced the Bartlett Pear trium- 
phantly from across the room. He had detected 
the missing letters on top of the office safe. He held 
them up to view, shaking his head in mock sadness, 
but with the fine twinkle of amusement in his eyes 
that so often brightened his face and atoned for its 
habitual heaviness. “ Take my word for it, 
Jerry; your carelessness is going to get you into 
[ 5 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


serious trouble one of these days — if you aren’t 
careful! ” 

“ Pshaw ! ” Bronson’s hand strayed to his head 
again, as it always did when he was embarrassed. 
“ I see there’s no help for it, Henry. ‘ Efficiency ’ 
is the watchword of business to-day. I shall have to 
get one of those new-fangled automatic filing cabi- 
nets that give three clicks, walk across the room, and 
hand you just the paper you’ve whistled for.” 

They both smiled at this flight of fancy, and with 
a cheerful word of farewell Bartlett took his ponder- 
ous way from his partner’s office to his own. 

Left to himself, the head of the firm conscien- 
tiously restored his desk from its present state of 
chaos to the earlier state of chaos that it had en- 
joyed prior to the disturbing search for the Gra- 
ham letters. That done, he bethought himself of 
a more congenial pastime. 

He strolled over to the window, through which 
the afternoon sun was streaming brilliantly, 
fumbled in his pocket and drew forth a flat, oval box 
such as jewelers use. He opened it tenderly, then 
waved it gently to and fro so that the jewels within 
might catch the full brightness of the sunlight. He 
[ 6 ] 


His First Butler 


smiled lovingly at the crimson flames that darted 
from the facets of each ruby. 

A tap at the door interrupted the fire-worshipper. 
He snapped the lid upon his flashing treasures, re- 
stored the case to his pocket, and called out a sum- 
mons to enter. 

The door opened slightly, a shock of red hair ap- 
peared in the aperture, and the piping voice of the 
office-boy made pronouncement. 

“ Some’un to see you, sir. About a advertise- 
ment, he says.” 

“ Show him in.” 

There was no hint of perturbation in the sharp 
command. In this, one of the crises of his life, Jere- 
miah Bronson was perfect master of himself and his 
emotions; he merely flirted one hand to his necktie 
to make sure that it was straight, while the other 
shot to his head to see that the third wisp of hair — 
counting up from his forehead — was faithfully per- 
forming its appointed duty of concealing a partic- 
ularly chilly piece of scalp. Then he was ready to 
interview his first butler. 

The office-boy reappeared, followed by a tall, 
well-built man of perhaps thirty-five years, neatly 
[ 7 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


dressed in a suit of some dark gray material, a care- 
fully knotted, navy blue four-in-hand, a stiff collar, 
a quiet pair of socks, and well-polished black shoes. 
Mr. Bronson, from the corner of his eye, drew a 
swift impression of a subdued, respectful manner. 

“Mr. Peters, sir! ” The office boy vanished. 

Jerry Bronson, with ostentatious difficulty, re- 
called his rapt attention from the two-year-old 
business communication that had come first to 
hand. 

“ Oh — yes. You have come to see me — ? ” 

“ About your advertisement in this morning’s 
Herald, sir.” The man’s voice was pleasant and 
well-modulated. 

“Exactly. Of course, you noted that I want 
a man only for the summer months? ” 

“ Yes, sir. That would suit me very nicely, sir. 
My present employer is leaving for California, and 
he has asked me to come back to him when he re- 
turns in the fall. 

“ Who is he? ” 

“ Mr. Reginald McKittrick. A writer, sir.” 

“He is willing, I presume, to recommend you? 
I should expect, of course, to know that.” 

[ 8 ] 


His First Butler 


Peters silently produced an envelope from some 
hidden recess in the dark gray suit and handed it 
over with a slight bow. Bronson read the enclosed 
note at a glance, for it was brief and clear. It 
highly recommended the bearer, John Peters, as an 
honest and faithful servant who had been in the 
writer’s employ for five years, and it was signed, 
“ Reginald McKittrick.” 

The broker looked up. “This seems quite sat- 
isfactory,” he said. “ What wages do you want? ” 

“ One hundred dollars a month, sir.” 

Mr. Bronson experienced the same agreeable sen- 
sation to which he thrilled when he scented a bar- 
gain in real estate. He had expected to pay at least 
a hundred and fifty, and he concealed his feelings 
with some trouble. 

“That is not unreasonable,” he admitted. He 
leaned back in his chair, half-closed his eyes, and 
appeared lost in some abstruse calculation. He 
emerged to volunteer some information concerning 
himself. “ Um! There are five of us in the family 
— counting my little girl, Cicely, who is only eight 
and does not come to the table. Besides yourself, 
we keep a cook and housemaid.” 

[ 9 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Will I be expected to do any outside work, sir? ” 

“ Oh, no. The gardener does all that.” 

“ Thank you, sir.” 

“You say that Mr. McKittrick is expecting to 
leave for California: does that mean that you can- 
not come to me at once? ” 

“He has tickets for to-morrow morning, sir. I 
think he would like me to spend the rest of the day 
in straightening up the apartment, but I could 
report to you any time the following day.” 

^.Wednesday,” hazarded Jerry, and confirmed 
this shrewd guess by a glance at the calendar above 
his desk. At the same time he rose to his feet with 
an air of finality. “Very well, Peters. Consider 
yourself engaged, and take your things out to Clare- 
dale as early on Wednesday as you can manage.” 
He turned his back to his desk and scribbled a line or 
two. “ Here is my address. You can look up a 
convenient train for yourself.” 

“ Very good, sir. I’m sure I hope you’ll be satis- 
fied, sir.” 

He was gone in an instant, shutting the door 
swiftly and silently behind him with a touch that 
Jerry hoped the office-boy might note. 

[ 10 ] 


His First Butler 


The broker felt very well satisfied. The inter- 
view had been fifty per cent easier, and fifty dollars 
cheaper, than he had dared to hope, and as he looked 
back upon it, he could not help wishing that some 
other affairs of life might be settled half as quickly 
and as easily. Then his native business sense gave 
him a cautionary nudge. 

“ Might as well check that reference,” he mut- 
tered, and reached for the telephone book. 

He found McKittrick’s number without any diffi- 
culty, but his effort to get connected met with a 
steady response of “ don't answer ” from a curt cen- 
tral. He eventually gave it up, and as it was really 
past his time for the daily dash to the 4.50 train, he 
seized his hat and gloves and raced madly from the 
office. In a moment he was racing back twice as 
fast to secure his cane, an implement of social amen- 
ity that was still a novelty to him and that he was 
prone to forget in his more hurried moods. 

Fifty minutes later he alighted from the train 
at Claredale and marched briskly across the station 
platform, inhaling deep draughts of the fresh coun- 
try air and twirling the cane with the jauntiness 
peculiar to gentlemen of fifty-odd who are well-to- 
[ 11 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


do and at peace with the world. A number of hand- 
some automobiles were ranged against the platform, 
waiting upon their fortunate owners, and his at- 
tention was instantly caught by the familiar out- 
lines of a dark blue touring-car and the still more 
familiar outlines of the charming young woman at 
its wheel. 

“ Hello, Joan! This is very thoughtful of 
you.” 

“ Hello, Cousin Jerry.” The girl opened the low 
door at her side and jumped lightly to the ground. 
“It has been so beastly hot that I thought you 
might appreciate a drive instead of your usual 
walk.” 

She spoke with a faint but unmistakable English 
accent, an evidence of her nationality that was 
borne out by her fair hair, her blue eyes, and her 
exquisite complexion. She was exceedingly pretty, 
too, and made a delightful picture as she stood by 
the side of the blue car, her tall, slim figure arrayed 
in snowy white from the big floppy hat to the small 
canvas shoes. 

“Hop in,” she said, “ — or do you want to 
drive? ” 


[ 12 ] 


His First Butler 


Mr. Bronson preferred to hop in. She slipped 
into her place at the wheel, slammed the door be- 
hind her, and skilfully guided the blue car through 
a score of departing motors. There was an interlude 
of hairbreadth escapes and apologetic smiles, and 
then they were clear of the crowd and running 
smoothly along a shady boulevard. 

“ This is bully! ” cried Jerry, and there was some- 
thing almost boyish in the gesture with which he 
presently seized his stiff straw hat and tossed it 
into the tonneau of the car. “ Why didn’t you 
bring your Cousin Mary? ” 

“ Bridge,” answered Joan tersely. “ At the club. 
With the Lathams.” 

“ Oh. And why aren’t you there? ” 

“ On a day like this? ” Her sweeping gesture 
might have been even more emphatic if she had 
not been compelled to keep one hand on the wheel. 
“ I had two sets with the Brownell boys, took a 
tub, and here I am.” 

“ Well, I’m very glad you are! And Cicely? ” 

“ At a children’s party.” 

“Good for her! Are there any other items of 
local interest? ” 


[ 13 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ N-no, I don’t think so.” Then her pretty mouth 
suddenly hardened. “ Oh, yes ! Sidney telephoned 
just before I left that he would not be home until 
late.” 

“ Ah ! ” said Mr. Bronson. 

A little silence fell upon them. 


[ 14 ] 


Chapter Two 
SOME REFERENCES 

T HEY kept steadily on for ten miles. The bou- 
levard had given place to a dusty country 
road, and the last villas of surburbia had been sup- 
planted by a series of weather-beaten farmhouses 
before Joan took advantage of a cross-road to back 
and turn the big car. 

“ Do we pick up your Cousin Mary? ” 

“ No,” answered the girl. “ She expected the 
Lathams to run her home — and anyway she 
wouldn’t be ready yet. You know what the bridge 
crowd is when it gets a chance to settle down to 
work on a really nice June day in the country.” 

“ You seem to have quarreled with bridge, Joan. 
I thought you rather liked it.” 

“I do and I don’t,” she answered non-commit- 
tally. 

She had few secrets from her Cousin Jerry, of 
[ 15 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


whom she was very fond, and she would have been 
glad to tell him in considerable detail just what it 
was she disliked about the game as played in Clare- 
dale. But loyalty to her Cousin Mary sealed her 
lips. 

It is not unusual for a naturally broad-minded 
man to have one or two pet aversions, just as non- 
superstitious people who go out of their way to 
defy the lightning will nevertheless balk at passing 
under a ladder or raising an umbrella in the house. 
Thus Jerry Bronson, who was in most things tol- 
erant to a fault, but who suddenly developed the 
fanaticism of a reformer when it came to the 
subject of gambling. He was frankly rabid on the 
question, and prepared to exhaust all the vilifying 
adjectives in Rogers Thesaurus to express his opin- 
ion of a man who sacrificed wantonly to the Goddess 
of Chance. He shared the inconsistency of some 
reformers too in that he would never admit, even 
to himself, that his own business had in it any ele- 
ment of speculation. He believed, like many a 
better man, that his successful coups owed nothing 
to luck but everything to his shrewdness and pre- 
science. A tactless young man who had once argued 
[ 16 ] 


Some References 


with him to the contrary never forgot the expe- 
rience. . . . 

When Jerry moved to Claredale at his wife’s be- 
hest, there soon appeared slight suggestions of storm 
clouds on the matrimonial horizon. It so happened 
that bridge amounted to a craze that summer, and 
Mrs. Bronson, young, attractive, socially ambitious, 
discovered, in about five minutes, that her way into 
the hearts and boudoirs of the Claredale aristoc- 
racy ran via the cozy little card-room at the coun- 
try club. Arose then the question of stakes, and 
Jerry was consulted. True to form, he gave a pass- 
able presentation of Mt. Pelee in a fit of eruption. 
True to form, Mrs. Bronson wept like Niagara Falls. 
The flood vanquished the volcano, and Jerry con- 
sented to her playing for points, “ provided they 
were small.” 

Joan thought of these things as she drove the car 
homeward, and her reflections brought a bitter little 
smile to her lips. Small stakes! She had a vivid 
recollection of a bad twenty minutes in the club 
when a poor hand and a wretched partner had set 
her back exactly one month’s pocket-money; since 
then she had dexterously dodged, or refused, all in- 
[ 17 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


vitations to the little green tables. But Mary. . . . 
No, she decidedly preferred not to discuss bridge in 
detail with her Cousin Jerry! 

It was half past six when they drove snorting 
into the garage, and a question to the gardener, 
who hastened up, made it evident that Joan had not 
over-estimated the fascination of the game for her 
cousin. No, Mrs. Bronson was not home yet. 

Secretly, Jerry was not displeased with the news. 
It meant that his wife was enjoying herself, and 
that, after all, was the reason for this new home at 
Claredale, for the new automobile of superior horse- 
power, for the new cane that trailed behind him 
as he walked to the house, and — confound him ! — 
for the butler whose shadow hung over their lives. 
It was pleasant to think that his wife’s happiness 
was already justifying these material and spiritual 
efforts on her behalf. . . . 

He was confirmed in this complacent belief some 
twenty minutes later. He was in his room when the 
deep blast of a motor horn, the crunch of heavy tires 
on the gravel driveway, and the sound of laughing 
voices told him that the mistress of the house had 
returned. He stole to his window and cautiously 
[ 18 ] 


Some References 


looked down upon the group below. There were 
the two Latham women, with a Miss Willoughby, 
who was their guest, and there was his wife, quite 
the most cheerful and the prettiest and youngest- 
looking of them all. They stood talking and laugh- 
ing for a few minutes, and he noticed that Mary 
lingered on the porch after the car had rolled off 
to wave a last farewell as it curved out the gate. 

He hurried down to meet her in the front hall. 

“ Evening, dear! Been having a good time? ” 

“ Oh — fair.” She unpinned her hat slowly and 
laid it, together with her parasol, on a near-by 
chair. She was a slight, dark-haired woman, pi- 
quantly pretty, ten years younger than her husband, 
and for the moment, in the subdued light of the hall, 
ten years younger than that. 

“ How did the game go? ” 

“ Tiresomely. I had that awful Willoughby girl 
for a partner and she did her worst to ruin me.” 

“Lose much?” 

“ Oh, no. Just a trifle.” 

Jerry gulped, but he was no Indian giver. 

“ The luck of the game,” he observed airily. 
“ Part of the luck is the cards you draw, and part, 
[ 19 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


your partner. The best reason for not playing 
bridge is the partner you get.” 

“ Perhaps. . . .” 

“ By the way, Mary, I engaged a butler this 
afternoon.” 

“ Did you? ” 

“ He seems a very decent sort of man. He’s due 
here the day after to-morrow — and now that I 
think of it, I must call up his present employer 
after dinner just to make sure that his references 
are in order. Will you remind me in case I forget? ” 

“ All right, dear.” 

He looked at her keenly, surprised that she did 
not show more interest in an affair that he had 
thought close to her heart. 

“ What’s the matter, Mary? ” he asked. “ You 
seem a bit quiet.” 

“ There’s nothing wrong with me, Jerry.” She 
flashed him a quick smile. “ Tired — and a little 
headachy perhaps.” She picked up her hat and 
parasol and was moving toward the stairway when 
he checked her. 

“ Come into the library before you go up. Don’t 
let yourself give way like that. Wait and look. I 
[ 20 ] 


Some References 


have something to show you that may do your 
headache good.” 

She followed him obediently, and, when he had 
switched on the electric light, he handed her the 
jeweller’s case that he had kept in his pocket. She 
took it with a little exclamation of pleasure. 

“ Oh, Jerry! What’s in it? ” 

“ Open it and see.” 

She pressed the catch, and gave a soft cry of de- 
light when the lid flew back and disclosed a hand- 
some bracelet of rubies. 

“Jerry! How darling! ” She slipped the jewels 
over her hand and caught the clasp about her wrist. 
“You are a dear — and a great deal too good for 
me.” She drew closer to him, put her arm through 
his, rested her head on his shoulder — and, for an 
instant, ten years were lifted from them both. 

“ How’s the headache? ” he asked presently. 

“ Gone ! ” She laughed up at him, then held out 
her arm and admired her new present. “ I’m going 
to keep it on, Jerry. The Stowells are coming in 
this evening after dinner — and I just want to show 
it off! ” 

“ Of course! ” He smiled indulgently. “ Just as 

[ 21 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


you wish, my dear, but be careful of it, and don’t 
forget to give it to me before you go to bed.” 

“ I won’t forget,” she promised promptly, but 
something of the gaiety had gone from her voice, 
and a little of the sparkle from her eyes. “ Well, I 
suppose it’s time to get ready for dinner.” She 
glanced at the clock that stood on his desk. “ Is 
Sidney home yet? ” 

“ No.” 

The tone of the monosyllable caught her at- 
tention. 

“ Isn’t he coming? ” 

“ No. He ’phoned to Joan that he would be late 
getting out.” 

“ Oh ! I do hope — ” She knitted her smooth 
brows and left the sentence unfinished. “ Do you 
suppose — ? ” 

“ Certainly I suppose,” interrupted Jerry a little 
irritably. “ I am afraid that Sidney is getting in 
with a pretty fast crowd, and he seems to prefer 
their haunts to our home.” 

“ And after all you’ve done for him! ” 

“ I know.” His eyes grew thoughtful. “ Funny, 
isn’t it? You’d think he’d show a little more appre- 
[ 22 ] 


Some References 


ciation, considering that we’ve given him a home 
since he was a child. He knows that we’re both 
devoted to him — that we’d do anything we could 
for him, and if those things don’t mean anything 
to him there’s nothing more we can do. He’s 
twenty-three years old, and able to choose his own 
way of living.” 

“ I wish he were more like Joan,” reflected Mrs. 
Bronson. 

“ Oh — Joan is an unmigitated blessing!” 

“ It’s a pity that Sidney doesn’t take more inter- 
est in her,” continued his wife musingly. 

“ I’m devoutly thankful for her sake that he 
doesn’t! ” declared her husband, with as close an 
approach to savagery as his nature permitted. 

“ Jerry ! Look at the time ! ” Mrs., Bronson 
ended the conversation by hurrying off to her room, 
and she had barely descended again when dinner 
was announced. 

The meal was conscientiously, but awkwardly, 
served by a tall, dark, young Irish girl whose rather 
good-looking face was marred by a sullen expression 
that seldom lifted its shadow from her features, and 
as she was in the room most of the time, conver- 
[ 23 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


sation languished. It rose to animation only for a 
few minutes while Joan was admiring the new 
bracelet, and again as Mrs. Bronson, making her- 
self neat with a napkin, took advantage of Julia 
Shaughnessy’s momentary absence to breathe a 
pious hope that the coming butler would not pass 
the mayonnaise in such a thrusting fashion. 

“ Julia means well, but she’s a little over zeal- 
ous,” agreed Jerry Bronson mildly. “ I wish Pietro 
would spray those rose-bushes as earnestly as Julia 
sprays us with food.” 

Dinner over, Joan and Mrs. Bronson departed 
for the veranda to await the expected guests while 
Jerry mixed himself a Scotch highball and repaired 
with it to the library, where he settled down to 
enjoy the drink and a cigarette. 

There was a telephone against one wall of the 
room, and an extension instrument that stood, for 
convenience sake, on Bronson’s desk. His eye was 
caught by the latter, and it reminded him that he 
had a duty still to perform. 

“ McKittrick ! He ought to be home by now.” 
The telephone book quickly gave him the number 
he sought. He called the number, and was pres- 
[ 24 ] 


Some References 


ently answered by a quiet, polite voice that he 
instantly recognized as that of John Peters. 

“ Oh, is Mr. McKittrick there? ” 

“ I will see, sir. Who shall I say? ” 

“ Mr. Bronson.” 

“ Oh, yes, Mr. Bronson. I will call him at once.” 
Jerry crossed his right leg over his left and waited. 
A minute or so passed. Jerry swapped legs and 
continued to wait. At last a crisp, clear greeting 
almost startled him by its unexpectedness. 

“ Hello! ” 

“ Ah — is this Mr. McKittrick? ” 

“ Yes. Sorry to keep you waiting. What can I 
do for you? ” 

“I — er — called up in regard to your butler. He 
came to see me this afternoon — ” 

“ Oh, yes. He told me he had another position 
in view.” 

“ He showed me a reference from you. I suppose 
you will not mind confirming — ” 

“ Certainly. Of course, he’s a fine fellow.” 

“ Honest, I suppose? ” 

“ Perfectly.” 

“ Sober? ” 


[ 25 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Absolutely. He has never watered a drop 
of my whisky in the five years he has been in my 
service.” 

“I’m glad to hear that,” said Jerry, and added 
genially, “ I have still got something of a cellar.” 

“ Lucky man ! ” said McKittrick, “ A rare bless- 
ing these days! Anything else I can tell you? ” 

“ No. That’s all. Thank you very much.” 

“ You know I want him back in October? Mind 
you take good care of him!” 

“ I assure you I will keep him in cotton wool — ” 
began the broker a little stiffly. 

“ Fine. Good-bye!” 

The last word was almost lost in the click of the 
receiver as it was snapped up at the other end. 
Jerry Bronson hung up his own more deliberately, 
as became an elderly gentleman who felt as if he 
had just crossed teeth with a buzz-saw. 

“ Abrupt chap, that,” he thought. “ But I sup- 
pose he’s busy packing — ” 

He sauntered out to the veranda as the Stowells 
drove up to the door. 

The next two hours passed quickly enough in 
laughter and gossip. Then the visitors said good- 
[ 26 ] 


Some References 


night, Joan vanished in the direction of bed, and 
Mrs. Bronson followed her more slowly. 

Jerry stepped into the library for a last cigarette, 
and he considered it a remarkable piece of good for- 
tune that his first glance should happen to rest on 
the small safe that stood in one corner of the room. 
It reminded him of something, and he stepped 
quickly back into the hall. 

“Mary!” he called. “Oh, Mary!” 

She turned at the head of the stairs. “Yes, 
Jerry? ” 

“Your bracelet, dear! You forgot to give it to 
me after all! ” 

“Oh — how stupid of me! ” 

She descended half way to meet him. 

“ I'm sorry,” she smiled. Good-night, dear — 
and thank you! ” 

Bronson returned to the library, dangling the 
bracelet from one finger and enjoying its beauty 
and brilliancy. He had an inordinate passion for 
rubies, and as he had been gathering them and giv- 
ing them to his wife upon every possible occasion 
during their ten years of married life, he already had 
a very handsome and valuable collection. They 
[ 27 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


were always kept in the library safe, which, for its 
size, was remarkably strong and secure, and of 
which only he had the combination. 

He knelt before it now, opened the heavy door, 
and placed the latest acquisition with its prede- 
cessors. 

“ There! ” he exclaimed as he twirled the knob. 
“Even Bartlett would have to admit that I’ve 
been careful this time! ” 


[ 28 ] 


Chapter Three 


ENTER SIDNEY, WITH DIFFICULTY 

T HE following day was one of those charmingly 
warm ones that only suburban New York can 
produce in June. The thermometer registered num- 
berless degrees in the sun, and at least ninety in 
the breathless shade, when John Peters stepped 
from the comparative coolness of the train into the 
baking heat that radiated from the Claredale plat- 
form. In each hand he carried a heavy suit-case, 
and his appearance was that of a man who is hot — 
very hot indeed. As the train slid on its way behind 
him, he put down his bags on the concrete walk, 
patted his face with a pocket handkerchief, and 
looked about him. 

There were just two people in sight. At the 
farther end of the station from where he stood was 
the ticket agent, hatless and coatless, standing with 
his thumbs looped into his suspenders as he gazed 
dreamily after the disappearing train. The other 
[ 29 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


person was a girl in white who was doing something 
to the mechanism of a big blue car; as she stooped 
over the open hood, her profile was sharply outlined 
against the blue background of the automobile, and 
Peters could not help seeing that she was a very 
pretty girl. Remarkably pretty. The longer he 
gazed on her the more impressed he became, and at 
length he decided that she was quite the prettiest 
girl he had ever seen. . . . 

It was absolutely necessary for him to speak 
either to the railroad somnambulist or the lady of 
the car. Peters did not hesitate an appreciable 
instant over a choice like that. 

“ I beg your pardon/' he said, stepping toward the 
car, “ but can you direct me to the residence of Mr. 
Jeremiah Bronson? ” 

Joan Ayres, who had come to the station to send 
a telegram, slowly straightened from her problem 
in mechanics and regarded him with mild surprise. 

“ Can you — is your name Peters? ” she asked a 
little doubtfully. 

“ Yes, Miss." 

“ Oh." Her tone became more assured. “ Well, 
I’m just going there." She closed the hood of the 
[ 30 ] 


Enter Sidney, with Difficulty 


car, dusted one hand against the other, and seated 
herself at the wheel. “ Put your bags in the ton- 
neau and get in yourself.” He hurried to obey, and 
she idly noted the significant weight of the suit- 
cases as he picked them up. “ You’re in luck,” 
she said with a smile. 

“ I’m sure I’m very grateful, Miss,” he responded 
fervently. 

Joan had nothing further to say until they 
reached the house, when she jumped to the ground 
and bade him follow her in. 

“ Mr. Bronson is in the city, of course, and Mrs. 
Bronson will not be home until lunch. But I will 
show you the room you are to have.” He toiled up 
a flight of steps behind her, and was ushered into 
a good-sized room in the rear of the house — a 
room which he noted with pleasure was bright and 
airy. The bed looked most comfortable. . . . “ I 
expect you will want to get settled,” added the girl, 
with her usual thoughtfulness for the comfort of 
others. “ When you come downstairs you will find 
me on the veranda, and then I will show you the 
pantry.” 

Twenty minutes later he appeared before her, 

[ 31 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


much refreshed by a change of clothing and the 
liberal application of a quantity of cold water. Joan 
took a good look at him for the first time, and found 
her fleeting impression of the station confirmed. 
He was by no means unprepossessing, and as she led 
the way to the pantry, she lazily wondered why a 
comparatively young man, able-bodied and not bad- 
looking, should find himself contented in so menial 
a walk of life. Could he really be satisfied merely 
to buttle — or whatever it was that butlers did? 
She dismissed the question as interesting but un- 
important, and after giving him a few directions 
in regard to lunch, she returned to the shady ver- 
anda with her book. 

Peters, abandoned in the pantry, scratched his 
smooth-shaven chin reflectively. 

“ The first thing a wise butler does,” he mused, 
“ is to make himself solid with his fellow-domestics 
— especially the cook, if she’s a good one.” 

He opened the door that led into the kitchen and 
found himself in the presence of a large person of 
obviously Hibernian ancestry. She was plainly a 
cook, a real cook, and nothing but a cook. She 
was placidly peeling potatoes, and there was not a 
[ 32 ] 


Enter Sidney , with Difficulty 


sign of emotion on her red face as she raised her 
eyes and saw him. 

“ You’ll be the new butler, I’m thinkin’.” 

“ Yes, ma’am.” 

“Well, I’m Mrs. O’Malley, the cook.” 

“ I’m very glad to meet you, Mrs. O’Malley,” 
acknowledged Peters politely. With that the con- 
versation hung fire, and to end the pause, the butler 
thrust his hand into his pocket and brought forth 
a box of cigarettes. “ You don’t mind if I smoke? ” 

She lifted her calm eyes to his. 

“ If you smoke in my kitchen,” she said dispas- 
sionately, “ I’ll clout ye over the head wid a wet 
dish-cloth.” 

There was a hiatus of silence. 

“ Oh,” said Peters, and because nothing further 
suggested itself, and because he really did want a 
cigarette, he beat an orderly retreat to the pantry 
and cautiously smoked out the window. 

His lungs satisfied, curiosity drove him forth to 
make a survey of his new home, and he soon decided 
that he liked it. The rooms were spacious and com- 
fortable, dignified without being stiff, orderly with- 
out being unhomelike. His eye lingered fondly on 
[ 33 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


the well-filled shelves in Jerry Bronson’s library, and 
he wondered if the broker would occasionally lend 
him a volume to read in his spare moments. . . . 

Across the hall, in the drawing-room, he found 
Julia Shaughnessy polishing a pair of big brass and- 
irons and displaying a marked lack of enthusiasm 
for her work. 

“ Let me help you,” he volunteered gallantly, and 
Julia obligingly did. She sat back on her heels and 
watched the bright yellow metal emerge from its 
massage of smelly red paste. 

“ I hate doing brasses,” she confided presently. 

“ Do you? Well, I suppose it will be my job 
after this.” 

“ Will it? Then it’s glad I am that you’ve come.” 

She went off about some other duty, and when 
Peters had finished the andirons, he returned to the 
pantry with the comfortable feeling that he had 
endeared himself in a material fashion to at least 
one of his fellow-servants. The minor success en- 
couraged him to try his luck again with the bran- 
disher of dish-cloths. 

Fortune favored him. Mrs. O’Malley was en- 
gaged in laboriously removing the skins from a 
[ 34 ] 


Enter Sidney , with Difficulty 


number of tomatoes, and after watching her for a 
minute he ventured a suggestion. 

“ Why don’t you put them in boiling water? ” 

She put down her knife and regarded him stonily. 

“ An' for why should I be doin’ such a silly thing 
as that? ” 

“ If you put them in boiling water for a few 
seconds their skins will come off easily.” 

“ Is it jokin’ ye are? ” 

“ Of course not. Let me show you.” 

He filled a saucepan from the steaming kettle, 
put several tomatoes in the water for a moment or 
two, and then chilled them again beneath the cold 
water faucet. She looked on, fascinated, as his 
deft fingers slipped the skins from the fruit. 

“ Will ye look at that, now ! ” she said, and there 
was warm admiration in her voice. “ Sure, I’m 
much obliged to ye, Mr. Peters — an’ me cookin’ 
twenty years without learnin’ that simple trick! ” 

The butler thought it tactful to change to another 
subject. 

“ I suppose they’ll want mayonnaise with 
these? ” he asked. 

“ They will that.” 


[ 35 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Then if you will show me where the things are. 
I’ll make it.” 

She was his warm friend from that minute. 

Mrs. Bronson turned up for lunch but went out 
immediately afterward, taking Joan with her. 
From the conversation at table, Peters gathered 
that they were going to the Club, the one to play 
bridge and the other tennis. 

He washed the luncheon dishes, with the aid of 
Julia, who passed the time by giving him many 
intimate details of the family’s private life. He 
learned that Joan Ayres was a cousin of Mrs. Bron- 
son — a “ poor relation ” to whom the hospitable 
pair had given a home for some years, and who 
partially repaid their kindness by keeping the child, 
Cicely, in order — and more than repaid it, thought 
Peters to himself, by her delightful presence in the 
house. Sidney Durant, in similar fashion, owed his 
place in the family circle to the fact that his father 
and mother were both dead and that Jerry Bronson 
had accepted the responsibility of bringing up his 
favorite sister’s boy. He was now in his twenty- 
fourth year, “ an’ powerful wild,” said Julia. 

The sharp summons of a bell broke in on their 
[ 36 ] 


Enter Sidney, with Difficulty 


conversation and took the butler off to the front 
door. He opened it to discover a rather doubtful 
character, in dilapidated garments, whose breath 
was redolent of the illicit liquor frequently anath- 
ematized as the “ demon Rum." He carried an 
old leather tool-kit in one hand, and he was obvi- 
ously surprised at the sight of Peters. He stared 
fixedly at the quality butler and appraised him 
vaguely. 

“ You're new, ain't you? " he demanded in husky 
tones. 

“ Yes, I'm new. What do you want? " 

“ I've come to fix the lock on this here door? " 

“ What's the matter with the lock? " 

“ How can I tell until I find out? " retorted the 
man, reasonably enough. He dropped the bag of 
tools with a thud, and proceeding to divest himself 
of his dirty coat, revealed an even dirtier shirt. He 
rolled up the sleeves of this, and Peter noted with 
fastidious distaste that he had a hideous blue-black 
mole on the lower part of his left forearm. 

“ Get on with it, then," ordered the butler 
sharply. “ You’ll have all the flies in America in 
this house if you keep the door open long." 

[ 37 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


The locksmith gave a contemptuous grunt and 
commenced work with a screw-driver. Peters 
withdrew to the purer air of the library, where he 
hovered about and kept a casual eye on the laborer, 
who he was convinced was none too sober. He 
watched the man remove the lock, take it apart, 
and turn the pieces several times in his hand. A 
look of indignation came into his ugly face. 

“ Say,” he called out in aggrieved tones. “ This 
here is a Barlow lock, and they told me at the shop 
I was to fix a Yale! ” 

“ Well, what of it? ” 

The man put his arms a-kimbo, glanced about 
him curiously, and then gazed at the butler. 

“ Look here ! ” he demanded, in a puzzled minor 
key, “ whose house is this, any way? ” 

“ Mr. Bronson’s, of course.” 

“ Huh ! ” The locksmith returned to his knees 
and began replacing the plates he had removed. He 
volunteered a shame-faced explanation. “ I thought 
this was Bristeds’. I’m a bit new to this neighbor- 
hood. Can you tell me where they live? ” 

Peters could not, but Julia appeared on the scene 
and supplied the desired information. The Bristeds’ 
[ 38 ] 


Enter Sidney , with Difficulty 


was the third house on the right, down the boule- 
vard. The workman completed his task, pulled 
on his coat, and picked up the leather satchel. 

“ Sorry to have bothered you, mate,” he apolo- 
gized. “ My mistake.” 

“ See you don’t make it again,” said Peters 
briskly, and shut the door on the other’s retreating 
back. The illicit aroma passed away with him. 

With the exception of this negligible incident the 
afternoon wore along quietly and monotonously. 
Toward six o’clock Jerry Bronson reached the house, 
and as he stood on the porch fumbling in one pocket 
after another for his latch-key, he was agreeably 
surprised to have the big door flung open and hear a 
polite, low-voiced, “ Good-evening, sir.” 

“ Ah, Peters ! ” he said heartily. “ So you have 
arrived? Getting on all right? ” 

“ Oh, yes, sir, thank you.” 

“ Find your room comfortable? ” 

“Very nice indeed, sir.” 

Mr. Bronson found himself swiftly relieved of his 
hat and stick, which the butler, with sure instinct, 
deposited in a shallow hall-closet. 

“ Anybody home, Peters? ” 

[ 39 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Only Miss Cicely, sir.” 

The broker took himself to the library, where he 
settled himself to examine some papers that he had 
brought home from the office. In a few minutes 
he was joined by Cicely, a long-limbed, dark-haired 
child with her mother’s coloring and features, who 
promptly sat herself upon one of his knees — a place 
where he loved to have her, and where she loved 
to be. He gave her a hug of greeting. 

“ Well, my dear, what have you been doing all 
day? ” 

“ Putting my new doll’s-house in order,” she an- 
swered gravely. 

“ Fine! Is it all fixed now? ” 

“ Yes, papa. I’ve got a mother and father doll, 
two little boy dollies, and two little girls. And 
there’s a cook, and a nurse, and a gardener in the 
kitchen.” 

“You’ve got him placed right! That’s where 
Pietro spends his idle hours! ” 

Cicely’s face was screwed up in the throes of 
thought. “ Papa, who is the person in our pantry? ” 

“Eh? Oh, I see. He’s a butler, Cicely. Every well 
ordered household, my dear, must have a butler.” 
[ 40 ] 


Enter Sidney, with Difficulty 


“ A butler.” She digested the word slowly. 
“ He’s nice. I like him.” 

“ That’s right, my dear.” 

“ I must get a butler for my doll’s house,” de- 
cided the child. “ It will be very useful.” She 
went off to deliberate upon the new idea. 

Peters, in compliance with a hint from Julia, had 
set the table for four people, but only three sat 
down when dinner was announced. 

“ Is Sidney still among the missing? ” asked his 
uncle. 

“ Apparently,” answered Mrs. Bronson with a lit- 
tle frown. “ I don’t think he even telephoned. . . 
She looked up at the butler, who was at her elbow. 
“ Did any message come from Mr. Durant? ” 

“ That boy is getting to be the limit,” declared 
Jerry crossly. “ I suppose he is off on another 
party.” 

“ Who is it that he finds so fascinating? ” asked 
Joan casually. 

“ I don’t know,” replied her cousin. 

He did, however, suspect. But he had not told 
even his wife of the rumors he had heard concern- 
ing an attractive chorus girl who was reputed to 
[ 41 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


be the particular object of Sidney’s attentions. 
While there was a possibility that the story was 
not true Jerry preferred not to repeat it at home. 
He hoped against the rumors. 

Peter’s disappearance into the pantry at that 
moment gave him a welcome opportunity to change 
the subject from Sidney’s peccadilloes. He caught 
his wife’s eye. 

“ How do you like him — the new butler? ” he 
asked softly. 

“ Very much,” replied Mrs. Bronson. “ He’s a 
blessed relief after Julia.” 

Peters began to feel a strong urge of curiosity 
about this young man, Sidney, of whose wildness 
he had been hearing at intervals during the day. 
He did not have long to wait for his first glimpse 
of the family skeleton. It rattled in shortly. 

Joan and the Bronsons went to bed about eleven- 
thirty, and the butler, having made sure that the 
house was secured, prepared to follow their ex- 
ample. He was just about to extinguish the hall 
light when he heard the unmistakable sound of a 
wandering and uncertain key that was seeking the 
lock of the front door. He hurried to open it, and 
[ 42 ] 


Enter Sidney, with Difficulty 


a young man, who had apparently been trying to 
steady the rollicking door with one hand while un- 
locking it with the other, came in with it. He re- 
covered a doubtful balance with some difficulty. In 
the shaded light of the hall he looked scarcely more 
than a boy, with a pale face, a rather weak chin, 
and a mop of sandy hair that was meant to lie 
smoothly but was now disordered 

“ Good-evening, Uncle/’ said this apparition. 

“ Good-evening, sir.” 

A slight flicker of surprise crossed the boy’s face. 

“Why — you’re not Uncle!” 

“ No, sir.” 

“ Then who the deuce are you? ” 

“ The new butler, sir.” 

“ The new — oh ! ” 

If anything, he took a little longer than Cicely 
to assimilate this information. Then he drew him- 
self up with a laughable assumption of dignity, 
opening his eyes wide so that the white showed 
clear around the iris. 

“ Quite so. I knew you had changed too much 
to be Uncle. Er — good-night, butler! ” 

“Good-night, sir.” 


[ 43 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


The young man achieved a wavering ascent of the 
stairs. Peters, with impassive face, saw him make 
the landing in safety before he put out the light. 

Then he stood silent in the dark, thoughtfully, 
for a full minute or two before slipping away noise- 
lessly to his room. 


[ 44 ] 


Chapter Four 


MAYBELLE OF THE REVELS 

A WEEK later Jerry Bronson and his partner 
were seated in the former’s office going over 
the morning mail — which at first did not seem 
likely to produce anything worthy of comment. 
There were the usual number of circulars from other 
brokers, the usual number of checks in payment of 
rent or interest charges, the usual letter from the 
gentleman with a goat-pasture in Yonkers, who was 
willing to “ sacrifice ” it at Times Square prices — 
Suddenly Jerry gave a little exclamation of impa- 
tience as he picked up a long blue envelope. 

“ S’matter? ” asked the Bartlett Pear. 

“ It’s an ad. from a detective agency,” grunted 
his companion. “ Why in the world they want to 
circularize me — ! ” He shook his head sadly over 
people who would thus waste their money and his 
time, and dropped the missive unopened in the 
trash-basket beside him. 

[ 45 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


His partner, idly curious, rescued and opened it. 

“ ‘ Traynor, Foster and Henderson/ ” he read. 
“ ‘ Private inquiry agents. Investigations con- 
ducted with the greatest secrecy. Maximum of 
service with the minimum of publicity ' — how 
those fellows do love that phrase 1 — ‘ No case too 
large or too small/ Say, Jerry, do you suppose they 
could find that fountain pen I lent you last 
Tuesday? ” 

“ That's the third card they have sent me," said 
Jerry, still complaining. He felt in his breast 
pocket, discovered the missing pen by a rare stroke 
of good fortune, and silently returned it to its mar- 
veling owner. “ They must spend a fortune on 
stationery and stamps, and I'm shot if I can see 
why. Advertising can do wonders I know, but it 
can't create a demand for a private detective." 

Bartlett put his pen in his pocket, and dropped 
the circular back in the basket. Meanwhile Jerry 
had found a pale pink billet-doux that smelt 
strongly of perfume and was addressed to him per- 
sonally. He tore it open, wrinkling his nose dis- 
dainfully as a fresh wave of scent was wafted up- 
ward, and mastered its contents in a few seconds. 

[ 46 ] 


Maybelle of the Revels 


He gave a sharp, choking gasp as he finished, and 
Bartlett, glancing at him quickly, was startled to 
see that his face was white and strained and that he 
was leaning back in his chair as if faint, his eyes 
half shut, and the perfumed note clenched in his 
hand. 

“ Jerry! What is it? ” 

Bronson drew a long breath, expelled it slowly, 
and partially regained his self-control. 

“ I’ll tell you what it is,” he answered in a low, 
hard voice. “ It’s a letter from a young woman 
who signs herself ‘ Maybelle Minnedinker ’ and who 
wants me to give her twenty-five hundred dollars 
or face certain unpleasant consequences! ” 

“ Phew ! ” The Bartlett Pear’s eyebrows tilted 
sharply. “ My word, Jerry, what have you been 
doing? Who is Maybelle — er — Upsedaisy, and 
how have you damaged her to the extent of twenty- 
five hundred? ” 

“ Don’t be an ass, Henry, ” said the senior part- 
ner with righteous asperity. “ I haven’t done any- 
thing to the girl — or any girl. Here, read the 
thing for yourself. Read it aloud! I’d be sorry 
to think I’d missed anything.” 

[ 47 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


Bartlett obeyed, stumbling now and then over 
the bold and brave samples of a dashing handwrit- 
ing that was apparently evolved from the Runic. 

“My dear Mr. Bronson: I cannot tell you how 
distressed I am to have to approach you on a matter 
that is causing me serious concern, but circum- 
stances compel me to turn to you for assistance. 
Briefly, I lent to your nephew, Mr. Durant, some 
months ago, the sum of twenty-five hundred dollars. 
He gave me his note for the amount, and payment 
is now long overdue. He tells me that he cannot 
repay me, although I have repeatedly threatened 
him with legal proceedings, and, as I am in des- 
perate need of the money, I have decided to ap- 
peal to you to settle the matter. I am sure you 
will do this in preference to incurring the unpleasant 
notoriety that must follow upon my obtaining a 
judgment against Mr. Durant in open court. I am 
naturally anxious to know your answer, so I will 
call at your office to-morrow afternoon at four 
o’clock. If you are obliged to be absent at that 
hour, may I hope that you will leave a note for 
me — preferably containing a check? Believe me, 
dear Mr. Bronson, sincerely yours, 

“ Maybelle Minnedinker.” 


[ 48 ] 


Maybelle of the Revels 


“ Wow! " Bartlett tossed the letter on the desk, 
and the two men stared at each other in dismay. 
“The blackmailing hussy! ” he added vigorously. 

“ I suppose so,” answered his partner gloomily. 
“ But what can you expect of a chorus girl who's 
out for twenty-five hundred? ” 

“ Is she a chorus girl? ” 

“ I assume so." 

“ ‘ Minnedinker? ’ ” demurred Bartlett. “ It’s 
tuneful but hardly chorus. It fairly jingles — like 
a gold coin." 

“ Oh, I dare say she uses her real name for busi- 
ness purposes." 

“ True." The Pear glanced at the note once 
more. “ Four o’clock to-morrow afternoon. That’s 
to-day. You surely won’t fall for such an outra- 
geous demand, will you, Jerry? " 

“ I don’t know." 

“ What are you going to say to her? " 

“ I don’t know." 

“Well — but — you are going to see her, aren’t 
you? ’’ 

“ I don’t know, Henry." 

Consternation spread over Bartlett’s ample coun- 
[ 49 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


tenance — consternation that deepened as he looked 
at his partner and noted the genuine misery in his 
staring eyes. It came to him suddenly that Jerry 
was much less troubled by the blackmailing hussy’s 
letter than he was by this fresh evidence of his 
nephew’s wildness. Moved by a quick rush of 
sympathy, Bartlett struggled erect stepped towards 
his friend, and dropped a pair of heavy hands on 
the despondent shoulders. 

“ Say, Jerry, shall I see her for you? ” 

“ I’d appreciate it, Henry.” 

“ The question is, what do you want me to tell 
her? ” 

“ I don’t know.” 

Bartlett opened his mouth to protest against the 
reiterated expression of uncertainty, but was 
abruptly seized with inspiration. 

“ I know,” he said cheerfully. “ We won’t tell 
her anything. We will not commit ourselves. We 
will listen to what she has to say, and will advise 
her of our decision at a subsequent date.” 

“ Henry,” said Jerry Bronson with deep forebod- 
ing, “ she is a chorus girl, not a business man. She 
will want quick action.” 

[ 50 ] 


Maybelle of the Revels 


“ Well, I can’t help that! ” retorted Bartlett. 
“You surely don’t expect me to open champagne 
for her, do you? ” 

“ I’m sure whatever you do will be right.” Bron- 
son fluttered his thinning locks with a vagrant hand. 
“ I’ve stood a good deal from Sidney, but this is 
the last straw.” 

“ I wonder what he’s been up to? ” mused the 
Pear. 

“ I don’t know, and I hardly care. Mary and I 
are both fond of the boy, as you know, and we’ve 
brought him up like a son. But apparently he’s 
a bad egg. Of course one expects a bad egg to sow 
a certain amount of wild oats,” he continued, 
vaguely confused by the mixed figure of speech, 
“ but Sidney’s crop has exceeded the human limit. 
How many wild oats can a bad egg sow? ” 

Bartlett, able to look at the situation from a 
more neutral viewpoint, interposed a mild objection 
to this zoological and cereal combination. He had 
always liked Sidney, and although this new en- 
tanglement appeared to be rather an unsavory one 
he still hoped that some mitigating facts might 
come to light. 


[ 51 ] 


The Mystery oj the Twin Rubies 


“ There must be some good in the boy, Jerry. He 
couldn’t hold on to a responsible job with a big in- 
surance company if he didn’t have some brains.” 

“ Superficial cleverness! ” snapped the irate uncle. 

“ Superficial? Huh! Did you ever try to bor- 
row twenty-five hundred from a chorus girl — and 
get it? ” 

Mr. Bronson had never achieved this financial 
triumph. 

“ Well, then! No more of your superficial clever- 
ness! And, now, Jerry, buck up! Leave the fair 
Minnedinker to your Uncle Henry, and don’t go 
crossing bridges until you’re sure you’ve come to 
them — especially when the toll is twenty-five hun- 
dred simoleons; and a chorus girl is the bridge 
tender.” 

A brisk real estate business has its exacting 
moods, and both the partners were compelled by 
sheer necessity to turn their attention to more 
pressing matters than Sidney and his troubles. Bad 
eggs and wild oats are all right in their proper 
place — but business is business. 

The partners, still talking shop, lunched together. 
The forced distraction from his domestic anxieties 
[ 52 ] 


Maybelle of the Revels 


was probably the best thing in the world for Jerry 
Bronson; he slowly threw off the shock he had 
received in reading Maybelle’s letter, and while 
still talking real estate, in the back of his brain 
there formed the ghost of an idea that he might 
yet turn this incident to good account in further- 
ing one of his keenest ambitions. Alone in his 
office, after lunch, he arrived at a decision with 
the help of a big black cigar, and summoning the 
boy, asked Mr. Bartlett to step in for a moment. 

“ Henry, I’ve been thinking. . . . About this 
interview of yours with Miss — er — Minne- 
dinker. . . .” 

“ Yes, Jerry? ” 

“ I suppose, in the end, I shall have to pay her. 
He’ll be in the deuce of a hole if I don’t — ” 

“Hold on! ” protested Bartlett. “After all, we 
have yet to hear the boy’s own story.” 

Jerry had very little hope that it would be edi- 
fying. “ I guess she’s telling the truth — or mostly 
so, anyway. But, as I was saying, if I don’t come 
to his rescue he’ll be in a sweet mess.” He sat for 
several minutes revolving brisk thoughts. Then he 
tapped his knee gently and cast a look full of mean- 
[ 53 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


ing at his partner. “ It might not be a bad idea 
to give him a bit of a scare — eh? ” 

“ What do you mean? ” 

“ I could dash Miss Maybelle’s hopes with a 
flat refusal to give up a cent, and then let him know 
that I’ve done so. When he has had a week or two 
of worry, I can intervene. It will always be easy 
enough to choke her off before she can start any pro- 
ceedings, and it may be that a dose of real anxiety 
will stiffen Master Sidney’s virtue — if he has any.” 

“ Rather a desperate remedy,” commented Bart- 
lett thoughtfully. 

“ It’s rather a desperate disease,” said Bronson 
grimly, “ and I’m getting to be a pretty desperate 
doctor.” 

Bartlett’s brow cleared as he considered the pro- 
posal. “ I believe you’re right, Jerry. I’ve always 
taken the boy’s part, but I agree with you that he 
has gone too far and must be brought up with a 
round turn. It is possible that your idea of scar- 
ing him may accomplish what all your kindness 
hasn’t. Shall I talk to her, then, along those lines? ” 

“ If you please, Henry.” 

A few minutes before four, Jerry left the office; at 
[ 54 ] 


Maybelle of the Revels 


four o’clock to the dot the red-headed office boy 
appeared before Mr. Bartlett with the information 
that a lady was asking for Mr. Bronson. 

“ Show her in here, Jimmy.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

The Bartlett Pear adopted his sternest and most 
dignified air, and, as a finishing touch, put on a 
pair of glasses, heavily rimmed with gold, which he 
never wore except on state occasions, and which he 
fondly believed lent him an awesome dignity and 
impressiveness. He fastened a grim eye on the door 
of his office. 

The vision of beauty that presently floated into 
view did not appear to be impressed either by the 
dignified manner or the stern gaze — which latter 
lost much of its severity as it rested upon one of 
the most beautiful members of the classiest front 
row in New York. She was a tall, well-built young 
woman who radiated a superb self-confidence from 
every inch of her, from her small feet to her glory 
of golden hair — hair of a hue so chemically per- 
fect that a new double-eagle resting on its soft 
masses would have seemed but tarnished dross, a 
thing of no current value whatever. Her slim figure 
[ 55 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


was clad in a dark blue suit whose fashionable 
brevity revealed about eighteen inches of the most 
shapely blue silk stockings in the city. Her feet 
were shod in suede slippers of the same color, her 
small hat carried out the scheme to perfection, but 
no part or parcel of her costume could compare 
for blueness with the large eyes that gazed upon the 
Bartlett Pear unafraid. For the rest of her ap- 
pearance, it need only be said that she had just 
been engaged for the “ Summer Revels ” at a figure 
as pleasing as her own. 

The Pear rose and made obeisance twice; once 
outwardly to her, and once inwardly to Sidney’s 
taste, which he decided had been underestimated. 
He drew up a chair with one hand and reached for 
a dark blue parasol with the other, but this she 
refused to relinquish. She sat down rather stiffly 
and fixed him with an accusing gaze. 

“ You are not Mr. Bronson? ” 

“ No. Mr. Bronson was obliged to leave early 
to-day and has asked me to represent him with 
you.” 

“ Oh ! ” Her blue eyes dropped to the tip of 
her parasol, which made a sharp, squeaky noise 
[ 56 ] 


Maybelle of the Revels 


as she absently rubbed it against the base of Mr. 
Bartlett's desk. “ Oh, I see! ” 

If there was any innuendo in either her words 
or voice, it was lost entirely upon Bartlett. Of 
all things on earth, he objected most to sharp 
squeaky noises ; the explosion of a dynamite 
cartridge in the next room, if it left him at all, 
would have left him calm, but a sharp, squeaky 
noise played havoc with his spine and rasped his 
whole body to the marrow of his bones. He shiv- 
ered now, and eyed the offending parasol resentfully. 

“ In a way," continued Miss Minnedinker, check- 
ing her restless weapon, to his great relief, “in a 
way I'm rather glad. It is really easier to discuss 
these — these embarrassing matters with someone 
not personally involved. I am sure I shall find you 
a most delightful substitute! " 

Without warning, she hurled at him her most 
effective, man-taming smile, which, sad to say, was 
woefully wasted upon this occasion. Her intended 
victim was shifting nervously from side to side at 
his desk and watching her parasol with the same 
trepidation that a sufferer in the dentist's chair 
watches the shining instrument in the hand of his 
[ 57 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


torturer, and he recalled his attention with some- 
thing of an effort. 

“ Oh — er — certainly, by all means ! ” he stam- 
mered. “ Now, you see, your letter left a few things 
unexplained that Mr. Bronson would like to know 
more about. . . .” 

“Yes? ” answered the lady graciously. “ I am 
sure I’ll be delighted.” 

“Well, let me see — you know Mr. Durant quite 
well, I suppose? ” 

“ Oh, no,” corrected the girl in her clear, fresh 
voice. “ I never lend twenty-five hundred dollars 
except to strangers.” 

“Um! And, just what was the nature of the 
loan? ” 

“ Cash,” she answered briefly, and added sorrow- 
fully, “ the hard-earned savings of a poor working 
girl.” 

A lingering squeak came from the parasol; Mr. 
Bartlett unclenched his teeth as it subsided, and re- 
sumed his questioning. 

“You misunderstand me. I meant for wha.t 
purpose did you lend Mr. Durant the money, and on 
what terms? ” 


[ 58 ] 


Maybelle of the Revels 


“ To play a tip on the market,” she answered 
sadly. “ Six months at six per cent.” 

“ Ah.” A legitimate action if a foolish one; 
he could find no reason to quarrel with her on that 
score, so he trained his batteries on a weaker spot. 
“ You realize, of course, that your letter to Mr. 
Bronson was in the nature of a threat for the pur- 
pose of extorting money? Perhaps you are aware 
that the law has an unpleasant name for that.” 

“ Blackmail,” she agreed sweetly, “ but of so mild 
a character that no judge would condemn me.” 

“You may be given an opportunity to learn 
whether that is so or not.” The Bartlett Pear felt 
he was not distinguishing himself, and decided to 
bring matters to a head. “ Mr. Bronson, I may tell 
you, is a man of great resolution — very great reso- 
lution and firmness. Exceptional firmness. A hard 
man, my dear young lady. I fear he is not dis- 
posed to hand over twenty-five hundred dollars to 
pay for a piece of foolishness on the part of his 
nephew, and I assure you in all friendliness that 
you are probably wasting your time in trying to 
collect Sidney's debts from his uncle. You will 
not find Mr. Bronson an ‘ easy mark,' as they call it.” 
[ 59 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


The parasol squeaked furiously. Mr. Bartlett 
prayed for strength. 

“ I think/’ said the girl slowly, describing little 
circles against the desk, “ I think ( squeak ) that 
Mr. Bronson is very ill-advised to take such an 
attitude ( squeak-squeak ) in this matter. He must 
know that in order ( squeak ) to protect myself I 
will be compelled to secure a judgment against Mr. 
Durant. That means publicity ( squeak-squeak ) 
which cannot fail to injure the young man’s repu- 
tation ( squeak ) and his prospects ( squeak ) with 
the company that employs him. In the circum- 
stances, I believe Mr. Bronson would prefer to 
(sque-e-e-ak) — ” 

“ Don’t do that! ” cried Mr. Bartlett in agony. 

She regarded him with open eyes. “ Don’t do 
what? ” 

“ Squeak! With your parasol, I mean. I can’t 
stand it! ” 

“Gracious! Do you mean — this?” ( Squeak ) 
She watched the writhings of her victim with deep 
interest, and, to better appreciate such a curious 
reaction, she mauled his nerves with one final, 
satisfying, excruciating squeak while she watched 
[ 60 ] 


Maybelle of the Revels 


him quiver. “ How funny ! I suppose you are 
nervous? I never am myself/’ she added consol- 
ingly. Then her voice became more business-like. 
“ However, this is interesting, but it isn’t getting 
us anywhere. Please tell Mr. Bronson for me that 
I am very much in earnest and will do exactly as 
I say. I will give him just one week to come through 
with the cash.” 

Mr. Bartlett flushed indignantly. She had tried 
him too far already. 

“ Is that an ultimatum? ” he snapped. 

“ A what? ” 

“ An ultimatum — a final definite statement of 
your purpose.” 

“ Absolutely! ” 

“ In that case,” said the Pear with great deliber- 
ation, “ I’m authorized to inform you, here and now, 
that Mr. Bronson refuses to have anything more 
to do with you. You will have to depend upon 
Mr. Durant to repay your loan.” 

She sprang to her feet, an outraged goddess in 
blue. Her eyes flashed fire. 

“ In-deed! Well, let me tell you that Mr. Bron- 
son never said any such thing! I know from Sidney 
[ 61 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


that he is much too kind and gentle to treat a poor 
girl so mean! That’s why he got you to see me! 
When it came to a bit of dirty work he had to em- 
ploy a sneaking, stingy, stodgy, hard-hearted, brain- 
less, bald-headed old crab” She swept him from 
head to foot with a withering glance, took a long 
breath, and expelled it in one violent epithet: 
“Pig!” 

The Bartlett Pear bounded to his feet with a 
purple face. 

“ L-l-l-look here ! ” he stammered, between little 
choking sounds of wrath. “ Look here, Miss Min- 
nie Maybelledinger — ” 

She swung on her heel and marched swiftly from 
the office, her face and form eloquent of fury. But 
even in her tempestuous anger she remembered to 
trail the parasol heavily along the floor where it 
squeaked, squeaked, squeaked, while the Bartlett 
Pear clapped his hands to his ears and suffered. 


[ 62 ] 


Chapter Five 


MR. BRONSON IS FIRM 

J ERRY, driven from his office by the fearsome 
advent of the fair Miss Minnedinker, took the 
first train for Claredale. He found, as he had half 
expected, an empty house. Joan was playing tennis, 
his wife was at the club, presumably playing bridge, 
and Cicely was attending a birthday party some- 
where. Jerry sighed, and betook himself into the 
library to work on some rent-rolls that he had 
brought home with him. 

He was glad when the sharp summons of the tele- 
phone at five o’clock gave him an excuse to thrust 
the papers aside. His partner’s voice came over 
the wire, and he listened with absorbed interest 
while the Bartlett Pear gave a slightly edited ac- 
count of his interview with the blackmailing hussy. 

“ You made it clear to her that there was nothing 
doing?” asked Bronson. “Fine, Henry! That is 
just the line I wanted you to take! I am sure she 
[ 63 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


will report the result to Sidney, and then we’ll see 
if he can be scared into behaving himself! ” He 
brought the conversation to a close with a few 
heartfelt words of gratitude. 

When he had hung up the receiver, he touched 
an electric button. 

“ Peters, have you received any message to-day 
from my nephew? ” 

“ Mr. Durant ’phoned, sir, just before you came 
in. He does not expect to be home for dinner, sir, 
but will be here later.” 

“ Thank you, Peters. That’s all.” 

When the butler had gone, Jerry hunted through 
the drawers of his desk until he discovered an old 
pipe that he reserved for his more serious moods 
of reflection. He had filled and smoked it twice, 
and determined that no matter how late Sidney 
might be in returning he would find an irate guard- 
ian awaiting him, when the sound of a latch-key 
in the front door, followed by the subject of his 
thoughts in person, aroused him to the fact that he 
was even now on the threshold of the interview 
that he dreaded. 

“ Good-evening, Uncle!” said Sidney, a shade 
[ 64 ] 


Mr. Bronson is Firm 


too heartily. “ Isn’t this rather early for you to be 
home? ” 

“ Speak for yourself, my boy! As a matter of 
fact, I was expecting you to be late; didn’t you tel- 
ephone that you would not be home for dinner? ” 

“ Yes,” admitted his nephew. “ I was supposed 
to dine with some chaps in town, but I changed 
my plans.” 

He lighted a cigarette, took several nervous puffs 
at it, and threw it impatiently into the fireplace. 
The action, simple though it was, indicated clearly 
his frame of mind ; he avoided his uncle’s eye while 
he took two or three turns about the room, but 
finally, with the air of summoning all his courage, 
he halted in front of Jerry and plunged into the 
matter that weighed upon them both. 

“ I understand, sir, that you have just been in- 
formed of my last bit of assininity.” 

“Your last ?” Mr. Bronson raised questioning 
eyebrows. “I’ve little hope that it’s that, Sidney; 
but if you mean your latest, and if you mean May- 
belle, I can say that I have.” 

“ She called me up and said she’d talked with 
Bartlett,” confessed the young man. “ She has 
[ 65 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


threatened several times to go to you, but I never 
dreamed that she’d do it.” He lighted another cig- 
arette and meditated a moment. “ Not that I blame 
her at all ; twenty-five hundred dollars must make a 
pretty big hole in her nest-egg.” 

“ Or any one else’s,” added Jerry, not without 
some feeling. Sidney had the grace to flush. “ If 
I’m not being too personal, may I ask the size of 
your own nest-egg at present — in cash? ” 

“ One hundred and thirty-seven dollars and sixty- 
three cents,” replied his nephew promptly — and he 
derived small comfort from the grunt with which 
his uncle acknowledged the figures. 

“ Suppose you sit down, Sidney, and tell me the 
history of your indebtedness to Miss Minnedinker. 
If there is anything particularly disgraceful about 
it, I will guarantee to keep the knowledge from the 
family.” 

“ Oh, it’s not as bad as that, sir. The truth is, 
I saw a chance to make a nice little pot of money 
if I could lay my hands on enough capital to take 
advantage of my knowledge. I have known Miss 
Minnedinker for quite awhile, and when I happened 
to mention my needs in her hearing one day, she 
[ 66 ] 


Mr. Bronson is Firm 


immediately offered to lend me the twenty-five hun- 
dred — on terms, of course.” 

“ What were they? ” 

“ We agreed to act as partners, she putting in her 
money against my information; we were to split 
the profits fifty-fifty.” 

“ And the losses? ” 

“ There weren’t going to be any losses,” answered 
Sidney, and in spite of his chastened mood, he could 
not restrain a mirthless grin. “ That is how I came 
to fall in with her suggestion that I give her my 
personal note for the amount I borrowed.” 

“ Didn’t it occur to you that it was a case of heads 
she won, tails you lost? ” 

“ It did, but I was so confident — ” he broke off 
with a shrug of his shoulders. 

“ In what new and graceful shape did this latest 
gold-brick appear before you? They are much 
varied in form and in manner of presentation, but 
they all resolve themselves finally into one form — 
about ten inches by two and four, and well gilded on 
the outside. I hope you have at least observed the 
promise you made me a year ago that you would 
do no more gambling? ” 


[ 67 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Of course I have, sir ! This was no gambling 
proposition; it was a perfectly straight tip on a 
sound Wall Street stock. If the whole silly market 
hadn’t skidded . . 

Jerry Bronson raised anguished eyes to Heaven. 

“Oh, no — that isn’t gambling! Wall Street 
never is — any more than Monte Carlo, or a horse- 
race! We all know that. So you took this 
woman’s money for a little flyer in stocks — and 
then what? ” 

“Well, it flew all right,” admitted Sidney, and 
again his lips shaped themselves into a smile more 
tragic than tears. 

“You have had time since then, I suppose, to 
reflect that the sum you owe the young lady 
represents approximately eight months of your 
salary? ” 

“ Seven months and twenty-three days, to be 
exact, sir! I have figured it several times.” 

“ Have you any other resources? ” 

“ No, sir.” 

“ It appears to me that your affairs are some- 
what seriously involved. How do you expect to 
get out of this mess? ” 


[ 68 ] 


Mr. Bronson is Firm 


“ I was hoping you could suggest something, sir.” 
“ Oh.” 

“ If you could find it convenient to give me the 
twenty-five hundred to take up that note, I might 
repay you by giving you half my salary until the 
debt is wiped out.” 

“ Humph ! I thought Bartlett made himself 
pretty clear on that point to Miss Minnedinker.” 

“I — I don’t think I understand, sir.” 

“ Didn’t she tell you the result of her talk with 
Bartlett? ” 

“ No. She just called up to say that she’d gone 
to you as she had threatened, and then she hung up 
with a bang. She seemed peeved. . . .” 

Jerry Bronson nerved himself to pronounce a 
thumping untruth for the boy’s own good. He 
cleared his throat, resolutely kept his hands from his 
hair, and tried to look as stem as Draco and as 
inexorable as a Mede and Persian — or a bank 
cashier. 

“ She had some cause to be angry. Mr. Bartlett, 
acting under my instructions, told her that I would 
do nothing toward paying your note, that she must 
look only to you for redress. You know, Sidney, 
[ 69 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


that I have borne with you long and patiently, and 
I feel that you might have behaved toward me as 
if you appreciated it — but there, I did not 
mean to speak of that, for it is a point you can settle 
with your own conscience. I do, however, refuse 
to foot any more bills to get you out of your sense- 
less scrapes — and I’m going to start now! You 
must manage to square Miss Minnedinker by your 
own efforts, or face the consequences of your folly 
like a man.” 

Sidney’s face was white as his uncle finished 
speaking; his eyes were cast down, and the cigarette 
between his fingers shook with the trembling of his 
hands. 

“ I’m afraid Maybelle has made up her mind to 
sue me,” he muttered. “ That’s going to put a 
crimp in my prospects with the Universal; they 
may not fire me, but they’ll be darned careful how 
they promote me.” 

To this melancholy prediction Jerry Bronson 
could find nothing to say except the age-old retort 
of the consciously righteous: “You should have 
thought of that before, Sidney! One bit of fore- 
thought is worth a hundred bits of afterthought.” 
[ 70 ] 


Mr. Bronson is Firm 


The lines tightened about the boy’s mouth. 
“ Am I to consider your decision as final, sir? ” 

Mr. Bronson was secretly glad that his nephew 
had phrased it so happily. 

“ That is exactly the way I want you to consider 
it,” he answered firmly. 

“ Then,” said Sidney, in a voice so low that he 
might have been talking to himself, “ I must get 
out of this mess in any way I can.” 

“ I wish you luck, my boy,” responded Bronson 
more gently. He gave a sigh. “ If I could only be- 
lieve that this would teach you a lesson — ! ” 

Sidney did not look up as he answered. “You 
can rest assured of that, sir. After this, you will 
have no further cause for anxiety on my account.” 

The words by themselves were fair enough, but 
Jerry Bronson was inwardly perturbed by the tone 
in which they were uttered. He shot a scrutinizing 
glance at the speaker, but the boy’s eyes were still 
fixed on the floor, and his expressionless face gave 
no clue to his thoughts. 

“ I sincerely trust — ” The broker cut short his 
sentence as Joan Ayres came through the doorway 
from the hall. 


[ 71 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“Hello, Cousin Jerry! Busy? ” 

“ Good afternoon, my dear.” He was pleased 
with her intrusion, ending as it did the disagreeable 
interview with Sidney. “ No, we’re not busy; come 
in and tell me what you’ve been doing with 
yourself.” 

“ Not much time for that, I’m afraid. Have you 
forgotten that the Derwins are coming to dinner? 
That means my very best dress, which is also the 
hardest to get into.” 

“ Great Scott ! ” Bronson looked at his watch 
and sprang to his feet. “ I had forgotten ! Don’t 
talk to me about your sartorial trials, Joan; be 
grateful you* have no stiff shirt or high collar to 
worry you ! ” 

He fled the room. Joan lighted a cigarette, 
perched herself on a corner of her cousin’s safe, and 
regarded the gloomy Sidney with a contemplative 
eye. 

“ Why is our noble brow thus mantled with dull 
care? ” 

“ Oh — I’m in dutch.” 

“ Still, or again? ” 

“Again.” He moved restlessly in his seat, im- 
[ 72 ] 


Mr. Bronson is Firm 


patient under her questioning, though he had the 
best of reasons to know that Joan did not ask out 
of idleness. 

“ Well,” she went on, a little drily, “ I suppose 
Cousin Jerry is ready to throw out the life-line as 
usual, isn't he? ” 

“ No. He has turned me down — hard.” 

“ Question of money, of course? ” 

“ Of course,” he echoed bitterly. 

Joan flicked an ash from her cigarette and studied 
the tips of her tennis shoes. She had told Sidney 
more than once what she thought of his conduct, 
but on the other hand she had come to his aid on 
occasion in very practical fashion — and it should 
be said to his credit that such loans as she had made 
to him in his hours of need had always been scru- 
pulously repaid. She prepared now to don the fa- 
miliar robe of Good Samaritan. 

“ Can I give you a lift, Sid? ” 

“ Thanks, Joan.” He managed a grateful smile. 
“ I'm afraid the ante's a bit too stiff for you to sit 
in.” 

“ How much is it? ” 

“ Twenty-five hundred.” 

[ 73 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Ouch ! ” said Joan, and almost dropped her cig- 
arette. She looked at him in frank dismay. 
“ Whatever will you do? ” 

“ Hanged if I know,” he answered sulkily. “ I’ve 
as much chance of raising twenty-five million as 
twenty-five hundred, unless,” he added with a short 
laugh, “ I take a can-opener and bust into that tin 
safe you’re sitting on! I expect Uncle Jerry’s 
rubies would melt down to what I need.” 

Joan frowned. She tossed her cigarette into an 
ash-tray and slipped to the floor before speaking 
again. 

“ That is a type of silly remark that I particu- 
larly despise. It doesn’t mean anything, and it is 
just asking for trouble. Don’t you know that 
if anyone burgled the safe to-night, I’d be 
the star witness for the prosecution to-morrow 
morning? ” 

“ Nonsense, Joan! ” He stood up. “ You’re much 
too good a sport to give me away like that! Well, 
I’m off to prepare for the dear Derwin invasion.” 

The Derwins, a healthy looking couple with ex- 
cellent appetites, arrived punctually at the time ap- 
pointed and were warmly received by their hostess, 
[ 74 ] 


Mr. Bronson is Firm 


who considered that their presence at her dinner- 
table marked a notable advance in her policy of 
peaceful penetration into the upper circles of 
Claredale society. Her triumph made her radiant, 
and her eyes sparkled as brightly as the handsome 
rubies that she wore. 

She noticed during dinner that her guests glanced 
at them more than once, and she was not surprised 
when Mrs. Derwin finally spoke of them. 

“ What lovely rubies ! Are they new, or are they 
heirlooms? ” 

“ Some are old and some are new. My husband 
is very fond of rubies, and when he sees any that 
he particularly likes he gets them for me.” She held 
out her arm. “ This bracelet is the latest ac- 
quisition! ” 

“ I’m awfully fond of them myself,” said Mrs. 
Derwin after she had sufficiently admired the brace- 
let, “ but unfortunately they are not at all becom- 
ing to me.” She suddenly noticed that her host 
had caught the word rubies and was smiling at her. 
“ You must have a lot of fun selecting such beauti- 
ful things, Mr. Bronson — and I think your taste 
is wonderful! ” 


[ 75 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Rubies have a fascination for me,” he admitted. 
“Yes, I do enjoy shopping for them whenever I 
get a good excuse. I am looking forward now to 
making a tour of the ruby markets in search of 
a stone that I need.” 

“ Need? ” 

“ Yes. A few months ago I picked up a remark- 
ably fine unset ruby, and now I am looking for a 
mate to it in order to have the two made into 
earrings.” 

“ I envy you your task,” sighed Mrs. Derwin. 

He beamed his recognition of a kindred spirit. 

“Would you like to see the one Fm trying to 
match? ” 

“ Oh, Fd love to! ” 

He rose promptly and went into the library. He 
was back in a minute with his treasure, which he 
laid in Mrs. Derwin’s outstretched palm, where it 
settled like a big drop of liquid flame. She gazed 
upon it with little exclamations of wonder, and re- 
luctantly parted with it to her husband, who ad- 
mired it no less than she. 

“ Can I see it? ” asked Joan, who sat next to 
him. 


[ 76 ] 


Mr. Bronson is Firm 


Derwin started to place it in her slender hand, 
but his fingers incautiously released their grip too 
soon and the stone fell. Joan made a quick at- 
tempt to catch it, but she only succeeded in strik- 
ing it with the back of her hand and knocking it 
some feet behind her. It was retrieved by the 
alert Peters. 

The butler had his back turned to the table as he 
stooped for the ruby, and Jerry Bronson, keeping a 
careful eye on the wanderings of his crimson treas- 
ure, was surprised at Peters' manner of handling 
the jewel. It seemed to Jerry that the man was a 
long time straightening up, as though he were tak- 
ing a good look at the ruby, and he could have 
sworn that he weighed it appraisingly as it rested 
an instant in his palm. In another moment Bron- 
son's favorite jewel was restored to his keeping, and 
he tucked it away in his waistcoat pocket. 

The incident slipped from his mind, but he 
recalled it later when the guests had departed 
and he was putting away the set that his wife had 
worn. 

“ I don't know much about butlers," he mused, 
as he turned the knob of the safe and felt the handle 
[ 77 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


to make sure that it was locked, “ but I’m reason- 
ably sure that one doesn’t expect them to be con- 
noisseurs of rubies.” A dark thought crossed his 
mind. “ Heaven send he’s not a crook,” he mur- 
mured piously. 


[ 78 ] 


Chapter Six 

McKITTRICK’S RUBY 

T HAT night Jerry Bronson noted the fact that, 
while a guilty conscience may prevent sleep, 
a clear one does not induce it. Thanks to the lin- 
gering presence of the Derwins, he had had no 
further conversation with Sidney during the even- 
ing, but, after he was in bed, the broker found him- 
self haunted by the memory of the earlier interview 
in the library; his restless brain dwelt continually 
on the tone of voice in which his nephew had made 
his last despairing remark. He would have given 
a good deal to know whether the words meant more 
than the manner of their utterance, whether he 
had heard a promise of better things or a threat 
of worse. 

Yet his conscience did not reproach him. He 
had acted after due deliberation, and he still 
thought himself entirely justified in refusing to pour 
[ 79 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


unlimited money into the bottomless well of Sid- 
ney’s extravagance; but he knew that if the boy 
did anything rash as a result of his well-intentioned 
firmness, he would never forgive himself. It was 
small consolation to the broker, tossing from one 
side of his bed to the other, to reflect that he in- 
tended to come to the rescue eventually. 

He got to sleep at last on the comforting idea 
that he would talk to Sidney in the morning and ask 
him to explain exactly what he had meant by his 
bothersome remark. But, as it turned out, Jerry 
did not get this opportunity to set his mind at rest. 
He entered the dining-room to find the table set 
only for himself, and learned from Peters that Sid- 
ney had swallowed a cup of coffee and bolted for an 
earlier train than he was in the habit of taking. 
Jerry sighed for another good intention gone where 
good intentions are reputed to go, and divided his 
attention equably between breakfast and the morn- 
ing paper, while Peters functioned smoothly be- 
tween the pantry and the table. 

Jerry had laid aside his paper and was just com- 
mencing his second cup of coffee when the butler 
spoke. 


[ 80 ] 


McKittrick’s Ruby 


“ I beg your pardon, sir, but there is something 
Fd like to say to you, sir.” 

“ Go ahead, Peters.” 

“ It’s about that ruby — the one you showed last 
night, sir.” 

Bronson looked up from his coffee, and there 
came to him a disagreeable reminder of a suspicion 
that had crossed his mind the night before while 
locking his safe. He frowned slightly. 

“ What about it, Peters? ” 

“ Only this, sir, that when I picked it off the 
floor it struck me as being exactly like one that Mr. 
McKittrick has. I should say, sir, that the stones 
were identical.” 

“ That is very interesting — very interesting in- 
deed. I imagine though that you are mistaken ; the 
chances are overwhelmingly against such an ex- 
act likeness, and only an expert could be sure of 
such a thing without placing the stones together.” 

“ That is true, sir, and of course Fm not an 
expert.” 

There was a faint hint of hesitancy about the but- 
ler’s manner, and Jerry brought him to the point 
with some abruptness. 

[ 81 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“You have some reason for mentioning this to 
me, Peters; what is in your mind? ” 

“ I was thinking, sir, of what you said about try- 
ing to find a mate for yours. I know Mr. McKit- 
trick would be glad to sell his ruby if he could get 
anything like a fair price for it, so I thought I 
would tell you about it.” 

“ I see! ” The broker felt the thrill of a collector 
who scents a new specimen. “ But I don’t quite 
understand how it helps me; McKittrick has gone 
to California, hasn’t he? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ And won’t be back until autumn? ” 

“ No, sir.” 

“ While I want to find the second ruby and have 
the ear-rings made in time for Mrs. Bronson’s birth- 
day in August! ” 

“ If you’d like to see the ruby, sir, I think it 
could be managed.” 

“ How? I don’t suppose McKittrick will come 
all the way across the continent just to show me 
a ruby that may be like mine? ” 

“ Oh, no, sir! ” The butler permitted himself to 
smile discreetly. “ I was going on to say, sir, that 
[ 82 ] 


McKittrick’ s Ruby 


his jewelry is in a secret place in his apartment, 
along with his silver. But he never had any secrets 
from me, sir, and if you so desired I could very 
easily bring you the stone to examine.” 

“ Why — I couldn’t listen to such a thing!” 
Astonishment, decision, and something of wrath 
were mingled in Bronson’s outburst. “ Neither you 
nor I have the right to touch a valuable jewel be- 
longing to another man! ” 

“ I quite understand that it’s unusual, sir,” an- 
swered the butler respectfully, “ but, under the cir- 
cumstances, I am sure that Mr. McKittrick would 
have me do just what I’ve suggested.” 

“ Circumstances? What circumstances? ” 

“Er — Mr. McKittrick’s, sir!” The butler 
smiled again. “ Of course I cannot talk too much 
about his affairs, but I may say that he is very anx- 
ious to dispose of some of his jewelry and would 
have done so before now if he could have got a 
decent offer. Mr. McKittrick has always been very 
good to me and I’d like to do him a good turn if I 
could, and when I gathered from your remarks last 
night that I might be able to help you too, sir, it 
— it seemed only right to speak ! ” 

[ 83 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Mm. Just so. I’m sure you mean well, Peters, 
but the scheme is out of the question. Anyway, 
as I have said, it is most improbable that the stones 
are really alike.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“ I could not permit you to take such a risk with 
another man’s property. Especially as the chances 
are a hundred to one against the two rubies being 
the same shade.” 

“Yes, sir.” 

Silence ensued. Jerry returned to his coffee, 
and Peters sedately withdrew to a corner of the 
room. But from time to time the broker glanced 
at the butler, and from time to time the butler 
glanced at the broker, until finally their eyes met. 

“ Er — Peters! ” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“ About that ruby — you’re quite sure Mr. Mc- 
Kittrick would approve your letting me see it? ” 

“ Perfectly, sir. I think he’d be very glad, and I 
don’t believe any harm would come from my bring- 
ing it here to show you. I could go for it this after- 
noon, sir, and take it back to-morrow morning if 
you’d prefer it that way.” 

[ 84 ] 


McKittrick’s Ruby 


The brokers conscience had battled with the col- 
lector’s passion and lost a fight against heavy odds. 

“ Very well/’ said Jerry severely. “ On that under- 
standing, you may bring it out and show it to me 
this evening, but whether it matches or not, it 
must absolutely go back to Mr. McKittrick’s safe 
to-morrow morning.” 

“ Of course, sir.” 

“ I’ll tell Mrs. Bronson that you are going to 
town after lunch. You’ll be back in plenty of 
time before dinner? ” 

“ Oh, yes, sir! ” 

Jerry let it go at that, not without some inward 
qualms. 

As soon as the butler had served lunch, he broke 
the news to Julia that hers was to be the pleasure 
of doing the dishes single-handed, and betook him- 
self forthwith to the station. When the train ar- 
rived, he settled himself in the smoking-car and pre- 
pared to enjoy a well-worn pipe that he drew from 
an inner pocket. It rather annoyed him when a 
young man, whom he had noticed on the Claredale 
platform, slipped into the seat beside him. And it 
annoyed him further that the man made up to him. 

[ 85 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Aren’t you the new man at Bronson’s? ” asked 
the stranger with courtly politeness. 

“ Yes.” 

“ I thought you were. My name is Jackson, and 
I’m second man at the Lathams’.” 

“ Glad to meet you,” acknowledged the butler 
after an instant of uncertainty. He added, “ My 
name is Peters.” 

“ It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to 
our midst,” said Mr. Jackson. “ I trust we shall see 
something of you now and again? ” 

“ Delighted,” murmured Peters. 

“ What is your evening off? ” 

“ Thursdays, and alternate Sundays,” answered 
Peters, and then hastened to forestall the invitation 
he saw gleaming in Mr. Jackson’s eye. “ Most of 
the time I have to go to New York.” He added 
after an almost imperceptible pause, “ Got a sick 
mother.” 

“ That is indeed too bad,” said the courtly one, 
“ but I shall hope to see something of you when 
the old lady’s health permits.” 

Mr. Jackson drifted to other subjects, and being 
of a talkative turn he did not resent it when he 
[ 86 ] 


McKittrick’s Ruby 


presently had a monopoly of the conversation. He 
gave some rather racy sketches of Claredale society, 
the source of many of his anecdotes being one 
Henry, the chief steward of the country club. 

“A rare fellow, Henry!” he cried admiringly. 
“ Full of life and fun. You can bet nothing gets 
by him! ” 

“ Indeed.” 

“Yep. Come to think of it, it was only last 
evening he was telling me some yarn about your 
Mrs. Bronson and my people.” 

“ Yes? ” 

“You know, these dames play for pretty high 
stakes at the club. Putting together what Henry 
told me and what I’ve heard in our dining-room, I 
guess your Missus must owe my bunch a cool two 
thousand bucks.” 

“ Owes it? ” Peters was surprised out of his in- 
difference. “ Do you mean to say she doesn't pay 
up when she loses? ” 

“ Doesn't look like it, does it? Guess her little 
old dress allowance can't be stretched over too many 
rubbers.” 

“ But surely Mr. Bronson has plenty of money? ” 

[ 87 ] 


The Mystery oj the Twin Rubies 


“ I heard something about that, too,” said Jack- 
son, slightly closing a knowing eye. “ It seems 
old Bronson is dead set against gambling, and while 
he doesn’t object to bridge in moderation he’d take 
the roof off the house if he had to settle wifie’s losses 
for two thou.” 

The complete conversationalist rambled off to 
other fields, and Peters, between monosyllabic an- 
swers, pondered this side-light on his employers’ 
affairs. If Jackson’s story was true — and no doubt 
it was — it would explain one or two things that 
had puzzled him. Mrs. Bronson was always cheer- 
ful, sometimes with a gaiety that the butler sus- 
pected was forced, in the presence of her husband; 
at other times she habitually appeared moody and 
depressed. Once, surprising them as they talked 
on the veranda, he had discovered Mrs. Bronson 
and Joan in an emotional scene; the girl had been 
flushed and severe, the older woman dissolved in 
tears. “ I know I ought to, Joan,” she sobbed, “ but 
I haven’t got the courage! ” So much he had heard 
before the realization of his presence startled Mrs. 
Bronson into silence. 

It appeared evident to him now that Joan must 

[ 88 ] 


McKittrick’s Ruby 


have been urging her cousin to confide her troubles 
to her husband. It was the sort of straight-for- 
ward, common-sense action that a girl like Joan 
would advise. If there was one thing that struck 
a man about Joan, mused the butler, it was her 
honesty, her courage. He was still elaborating this 
point in his mind when the train puffed into the 
terminus. . . . 

Bronson was detained at the office that after- 
noon. He did not get home until a few moments 
before the dinner hour, bearing with him a small, 
leather case full of papers that he proposed to work 
over during the evening. Between the lateness of 
the hour, which had forced him to hurry, and the 
importance of the business that obsessed his 
thoughts, he forgot the matter of McKittrick’s ruby 
until dinner was nearly over. Then the memory 
recurred to him, and he looked up quickly from his 
salad. 

“ By the way, Peters, did you get that ruby? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ Where is it? ” 

“ Right here, sir.” 

The butler slipped his hand into the side pocket 
[ 89 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


of his coat, produced a small white box, and laid it 
in Bronson’s eager hand. Jerry lifted the lid, and 
gave a cry of surprise and delight. 

“ By George, Peters, I do believe you’re right! ” 
He peered long and lovingly at the big red stone 
that gleamed up at him from its nest of cotton-wool. 
“ Here, Sidney, pass this to your aunt while I get 
the other ruby from the safe.” 

Sidney, who had heard nothing of the second 
stone and was rather startled by the casual appear- 
ance of such a gem from a butler’s pocket, held the 
open box in his hand and stared earnestly at the 
ruby before passing it on as requested. 

“ It’s certainly a peach ! ” he sighed. “ What do 
you suppose it’s worth, Aunt Mary? ” 

“ About five thousand, I should think,” answered 
Mrs. Bronson. The butler, standing near her, 
caught the sound of the little sigh that echoed Sid- 
ney’s just before Jerry bustled into the room and 
to her side. 

In his hand he carried the ruby that he had shown 
the evening before, and excitement left him almost 
breathless as he put the two stones together on the 
white table-cloth and leaned over them. Joan and 
[ 90 ] 


McKittrick’s Ruby 


Sidney caught fire from his enthusiasm and left 
their seats for a closer view, while Peters, displaying 
discreet curiosity, hovered in the background. At 
last Bronson straightened up and gave his decision. 

“ As far as I can see,” he announced solemnly, 
“ these two rubies are exactly alike in every respect. 
A most amazing coincidence! ” He turned to the 
butler. “ Of course, I should like my opinion con- 
firmed by an expert. I suppose there can be no ob- 
jection to that? ” 

“ None at all, sir.” 

“ Then I will take it to town with me to-morrow.” 
He suddenly bethought himself of the fiat he had 
delivered at breakfast. “ I will ask you to come 
with me, Peters, so that you can take it back to 
Mr. McKittrick’s apartment.” 

“ Very good, sir.” 

Jerry lingeringly restored the jewel to its bed of 
wool and handed the white case to the butler, who 
dropped it into his coat as negligently as though it 
were a box of matches. The broker tucked his own 
into the corner of his vest pocket, but abruptly 
remembering his troublesome absent-mindedness he 
determined to guard against it at least on this oc- 
[ 91 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


casion. Instead of resuming his seat at the table, 
he marched at once into the library and carefully 
locked the ruby in the safe, and, when he returned 
to his dinner, it was with the pleasing knowledge 
that he had effectively provided against some tailor 
discovering a treasure when next his suit went to 
be pressed. 

The evening passed quietly. Some neighbors 
dropped in and were entertained by Mrs. Bronson 
and Joan on the porch; Sidney slipped off to his 
own room, where he presently requested Peters to 
bring him some soda-water; Jerry excused himself 
from the party on the veranda on the plea of the 
papers he had brought home. 

He labored in the library without interruption 
until ten o’clock, when the entrance of Peters with 
a tray of glasses and a pitcher of ice-water broke 
in on his work. 

“ By the way, Peters, it has just occurred to me 
— ” he hesitated. 

“ Yes, sir?” 

“I’m a little nervous about Mr. McKittrick’s 
ruby. It’s silly of me, perhaps, but if anything 
should happen to it I’d never forgive myself. You 
[ 92 ] 


McKittrick’s Ruby 


have no very secure place to keep it and I’ve been 
wondering if it wouldn’t be better to let me put it 
in the safe over-night? ” 

" I think it’s an excellent idea, sir.” 

The butler immediately took the white box from 
his pocket and gave it to the broker, after which 
he silently left the room. Jerry lifted the cover 
and made sure that the ruby was all right, then put 
the box, still open, on the desk beside his pad. From 
time to time he raised his eyes from the papers with 
which he was engaged to glance fondly at the stone. 

A little before eleven, Joan and Mrs. Bronson 
came into the house. He was vaguely aware of 
their footsteps ascending the stairs, and then he 
heard his wife’s quiet movements as she paid her 
nightly visit to Cicely’s room, which was directly 
above the library. A moment later he was surprised 
to hear her hurry from the nursery to the head of 
the stairs. 

Some premonition of evil brought him to his 
feet, and he was at the door of the library when his 
wife’s frightened voice called his name. 

“ Jerry! Do come here at once! There is some- 
thing the matter with Cicely! ” 

[ 93 ] 


H 












Chapter Seven 


IN THE NIGHT 

J ERRY BRONSON took the stairs three at a 
time with an agility that could only have been 
born of fear. Like most men to whom a child has 
been given late in life, he worshiped Cicely with a 
passion that knew no limitations; rubies and real 
estate could go hang together if his daughter needed 
his attention. 

He and his wife, side by side, bent over the small 
bed. There was nothing of the hard look left that 
occasionally marred Mrs. Bronson’s pretty face, 
nothing of the calculating flicker that sometimes 
shone in her eyes; the schemer, if such she were, was 
entirely lost in the mother, and it was only a terri- 
fied woman who leaned over the flushed face and 
tossing body of her child. 

“ Fever ! ” said Jerry, in a hushed voice from 
which he tried in vain to keep a note of anxiety. 
“We must telephone the doctor — ” 

[ 95 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


He broke off with the abrupt realization that he 
was speaking to the empty air. She had anticipated 
his decision before he had put it into words, and 
had been too impatient to delegate her business to 
another. He heard her slippered feet flying down 
the stairs and into the library. . . . 

Bad news travels with lightning speed through 
any community and a private household being only 
a very small community it is hardly surprising that 
Cicely’s illness was known, not only to the family, 
but to the servants as well, before Mrs. Bronson had 
given a quick number to the central operator. 
Peters, shutting the dining-room windows for the 
night, had heard her first frightened summons to 
Jerry from the head of the stairs, followed a moment 
later by her rapid descent to the telephone. He 
carried the news to Julia, in the pantry, and then 
hastened to the front hall to see if he could be of 
any service in this sudden emergency. 

He arrived there just in time to hear an impatient 
exclamation from the library; the receiver of the 
telephone was replaced on its hook with a bang. 
There was a second of silence — a second that was 
subsequently to give him much food for thought — 
[ 96 ] 


In the Night 


and then Mrs. Bronson appeared in the lighted 
doorway. She paused as she saw the figure of the 
butler vaguely visible in the gloom of the darkened 
hall, and she leaned against the jamb of the door 
as though her terror for the child had weakened her 
limbs. One hand went nervously to her throat, 
the other hung by her side, partially concealed by 
a fold of her dress, and Peters noted sympathetically 
that its fingers were clenched like those of a person 
in mortal pain. 

“ The doctor’s not at home ! ” she said hoarsely. 
“ He’s at the club, playing cards — and Central 
says that ’phone is out of order! ” 

“ Is there anything I can do, ma’am? ” The but- 
ler stepped forward. “ Can I take a message — ? ” 
“ Oh — is that you, Peters? ” She appeared to 
recover herself by a tremendous effort. “ Thank 
you, but I expect someone will have to go for him in 
the car.” She passed him quickly and ascended the 
stairs. 

She found Jerry as she had left him, bending over 
the child’s bed with furrows of anxiety wrinkling 
his kindly face. Beside him was Joan, in a wrapper, 
nearly as worried as he; at the foot of the bed was 

[ 97 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


Sidney, an expression of genuine concern on his 
flushed countenance. They all turned to her as 
she stammered her news. 

“ I will go at once — ” began Bronson. 

“ Nonsense, Cousin Jerry, you don’t want to 
leave Cicely, and I — ” 

“Hold on, Joan! I’m still dressed, and you 
aren’t ! ” 

It was Sidney’s offer that carried the day, and he 
made his preparations so swiftly and drove the blue 
car so quickly that scarcely half an hour had elapsed 
before the watchful Peters opened the door on his 
return. He was accompanied by the doctor, a brisk, 
gray little man who trotted past the butler and up 
the stairs like one long familiar with the house. 
When he trotted down again twenty minutes later 
his face was grave, but not alarmingly so. Sidney 
had volunteered to drive him home, and the butler, 
who had grown very fond of the little girl, seized 
his opportunity to ask him a question while the 
young man was lighting the side lamps. 

“ I hope it’s nothing serious, sir? ” 

“ I don’t think so,” answered the doctor. “ I 
expect she’ll be up and around in no time.” 

[ 98 ] 


In the Night 


“ I'm glad to hear you say that, sir." 

The two men took their seats, Sidney threw in his 
clutch, and the big car rolled away into the darkness. 
A faint shout came back to the butler's ear. 
“Don't wait up for me, Peters; I have my key." 

The butler re-entered the house, closed the front 
door, and resumed his task of shutting everything 
for the night. He was by nature a careful man, 
and when he had finished he could have sworn that 
each window was securely fastened and every key 
turned in its lock. 

“ Peters ! " It was Bronson calling from the head 
of the stairs. 

“ Yes, sir? " 

“You can put out the light in the library. I 
shan't be coming down again." 

“Very good, sir." The butler switched off the 
light in question and retreated to the rear of the 
house. 

It had been Mrs. Bronson's intention to sit up 
with the child, but it happened that she had had a 
very tiring day and, encouraged by the doctor’s 
cheerful manner and by the fact that little Cicely 


[ 99 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


was now sleeping quietly, she yielded to Joan’s in- 
sistence that she should get some. rest. 

“Do go to bed, Cousin Mary. I’m not sleepy 
and I’ll sit up with Cicely for some hours anyway; 
if there’s the slightest change in her I promise to call 
either you or Cousin Jerry at once. You look so 
pale and worn — do try to get some rest, and stop 
worrying about everything.” 

“Oh, Joan! Worrying has become so habitual 
with me now that I hardly notice it any more! ” 
She smiled drearily. “ All right, I’ll do as you say.” 

The girl settled to her self-appointed task in the 
sick-room, armed with a new novel and an agreeable 
consciousness of virtue. She first took some dark- 
colored paper and made a neat shade for the electric 
lamp, arranging the shield so that the light was cut 
off from the room and fell only on the pages of her 
book. She sat there reading, it seemed to her for 
hours. . . . 

Something awakened her with a start, and as she 
immediately realized that she had been asleep the 
pleasant consciousness of virtue was replaced by an 
angry sense of shame. A quick glance at Cicely, 
however, showed her that no harm had come of the 
[ 100 ] 


In the Night 


brief nap, and then she fell to wondering what had 
aroused her. She had a hazy impression that there 
had been a muffled thud from some part of the 
house, and stealing to the door of the room she 
listened with straining ears for a repetition of the 
noise. 

She was much more curious than nervous, for 
she had absolutely no reason to believe that the 
sound had not been of some perfectly legitimate 
origin. She only thought it a little odd that any- 
one should be stirring at such an hour in that nor- 
mally well-ordered household. Of course its one 
black sheep — but no ! A glance at her wrist-watch 
showed one o’clock, and Sidney must have been 
back and in bed fully an hour before. Yet if that 
were so, why hadn’t she heard him? Had she been 
asleep longer than she thought? She was still de- 
bating the point without much interest when her 
heart suddenly leaped at the sound of tip-toeing 
steps from the lower part of the house. She held 
her breath. . . . 

Joan was naturally a courageous young woman, 
and after a moment of wonderment her courage 
was backed up by her common-sense. She told her- 
[ 101 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


self that no self-respecting burglar would walk 
about the carpeted floors of a well-built house and 
make noise enough to be heard on the story above. 
Fortified by this reflection, and not wanting to 
awaken any of the family unnecessarily, she ap- 
pointed herself a committee of one to investigate 
those footsteps and determine the identity of this 
nocturnal prowler. 

She prepared for her expedition by kicking off 
her high -heeled slippers; that done, her silk-stock- 
inged feet were as noiseless as a cat’s as she crept 
to the head of the stairs and down a sufficient num- 
ber of steps to a point where she could lean over the 
banisters and get a view of the whole lower hall. 

In spite of her courage and coolness, however, 
her heart gave a very panicky little bump as she 
saw the figure of a man come out of the library — 
a man who threaded his way through the casual 
obstructions of the hall by the aid of a slender beam 
of light from an electric torch, that modern im- 
provement on the traditional dark-lantern of a 
burglar! The little beam flashed weirdly here and 
there like a will-o’-the-wisp. Yet it was the radia- 
tion of this light from the white walls of the hall 
[ 102 ] 


In the Night 


that enabled her to recognize the man below her, 
and her fears vanished in a breath of relief. 

Her burglar was Peters, and the apparent object 
of his trip to the library was a book that he carried 
in his hand. Evidently he had come down by the 
servants’ stairway in the rear, had gone to the 
library, and was now returning to his room by the 
same route. Joan smiled to herself in the darkness. 

It had struck her once or twice that the man was, 
to use the old phrase, “ a bit above his station,” and 
it amused her now to see this confirmation of her 
surmise. Did he pass his nights in study while the 
rest of the world slumbered? or was he merely 
troubled by insomnia and driven to light literature 
for relief? She had never heard of a butler who had 
insomnia — usually, she thought, they slept like 
logs — but she supposed it was possible. She would 
have liked very much to know the name of the book 
thus surreptitiously borrowed and for a second she 
contemplated slipping down to the library and try- 
ing to identify it by its absence, but the thought of 
her cousin’s well-stocked shelves gave her pause. 
How could she ever guess the book he took? 
She abandoned the idea, and softly retraced her 
[ 103 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


steps to Cicely’s room, the little smile still playing 
about the corners of her mouth. 

She resumed her interrupted vigil, and no further 
alarms disturbed the night. A faint tinge of gray 
was showing at the edges of the shuttered windows 
when she took her last survey of the child, who was 
now sleeping peacefully. Joan regarded her for a 
little while with pursed lips, then rather hesitantly 
decided to go to bed herself and take the responsi- 
bility of not awakening either of her cousins. 

Jerry Bronson was up very early in the morning, 
probably before anyone else in the house, but, when 
he had satisfied himself by a trip into Cicely’s room 
that the little girl was sleeping naturally, and with 
lessened fever, he went back to his dressing-room 
and leisurely set himself to the daily routine of 
shave and bath. It was nearly half past seven before 
he came downstairs. He found the butler just com- 
pleting the sweeping of the front hall, which he 
liked to get out of the way before breakfast. 

“ Good-morning, Peters.” 

“ Good-morning, sir. I hope the little girl is bet- 
ter, sir? ” 

“Very much, thank you. I expect when the 

[ 104 ] 


In the Night 


doctor comes again he will tell us there’s no more 
cause for alarm.” 

“ That is good news.” The butler deftly gathered 
up his brooms and dusters. “ Shall I arrange your 
breakfast, sir? ” 

“ If you please,” answered Bronson, and entered 
the library. 

It was possibly two minutes later that Peters, 
surprised by the bursting open of his pantry door, 
looked up to see the agitated figure of his employer, 
whose disordered hair and disheveled appearance 
were in startling contrast to his customary neatness. 
And when he spoke, his strained voice came out in 
breathless gasps. 

“ P-p-peters, have you taken that ruby? ” 

“Good gracious, sir, of course not! ” 

“Well, it’s g-g-gone! ” said Jerry with a gulp of 
anguish. 

The two men stared at each other in stricken 
silence. 


[ 105 ] 







Chapter Eight 


THE SWITCH-KEY 

I T WAS the butler who recovered first, and, tak- 
ing note of his master’s shaken condition, he 
hurriedly drew up a chair, into which the trembling 
broker sank gratefully. Peters himself remained 
standing, his eyes grave and troubled. 

“ When you speak of the ruby, sir — you mean 
Mr. McKittrick’s? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ But, surely — how did they get into the safe, 
sir? ” 

Jerry groaned, and vigorously massaged his hair. 
“ Peters, I’ve never been so ashamed of myself in 
my life, but I’ve got to tell you the truth. I left the 
ruby lying on my desk all night.” 

“ My word, sir! ” 

“ I put it there when you handed it to me,” ex- 
plained the unhappy Bronson, “ intending of course 
to lock it in my safe before I went to bed. Then 
[ 107 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


Mrs. Bronson called me upstairs on account of 
Cicely, — and I haven’t been near the library since, 
except just now.” He added miserably, “ You see 
— when I heard she was ill — I forgot everything 
else — ” 

“ The most natural thing in the world, sir! ” 
agreed the butler. 

“Thank you, Peters — but it was inexcusable, 
just the same. And what to do now, I simply can’t 
imagine. I don’t seem able to think.” 

“ You’ve had a nasty shock, sir, I can see that. 
But I don’t think we ought to give up hope just yet. 
Couldn’t we have a look at the library, sir? After 
all, the ruby may be only mislaid.” 

Jerry was only too willing, and though he felt in 
his heart that the jewel was really gone he still 
managed to draw some encouragement and strength 
from the butler’s suggestion. But it was Peters 
who led the way from the pantry and who checked 
their progress in the doorway of the library while 
he surveyed the room with a searching glance. 

“ Can you notice anything changed about this 
room, sir, since you left it last night? ” 

The question was not lacking in shrewdness, and 

[ 108 ] 


The Switch-key 


Jerry tried to concentrate all his scattered faculties 
on a close examination of the library before he 
answered. 

Slight changes there were, of course. The chair 
in front of his desk had been pushed to one side, 
and the telephone had been drawn from its custom- 
ary place at the rear of the desk and now stood 
almost at the forward edge. 

“ That would be due to Mrs. Bronson,” said the 
broker. “ You know she came in here to telephone 
the doctor.” 

“ Yes, sir. I was in the hall when she came out, 
sir.” The butler answered mechanically, his 
thoughts elsewhere. He was thinking of the gossipy 
Mr. Jackson whom he had met on the train, of 
Mrs. Bronson's debt to the Lathams — the most 
awkward kind of a debt to a woman with social as- 
pirations and a husband who disapproved of gam- 
bling ! — and of her marked agitation when she had 
leaned against the doorway of the library the even- 
ing before. . . . Peters came back to the present 
with an effort, aware that the broker was eyeing him 
almost with impatience. “You don’t notice any- 
thing else, sir? ” 


[ 109 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ No.” Bronson swept the room with another 
glance. “ Yes, by George, I do! ” He pointed with 
outstretched arm. “ The right-hand drawer of my 
desk ; see, it is slightly open ! I’m sure it was closed 
when I left.” 

“ Was there anything valuable in it? ” 

“ Not a thing.” The broker knit his brows. “ I 
can’t remember having touched it myself for weeks.” 

“ That doesn’t seem important — though of 
course you never know in a case like this.” Peters 
scratched his chin reflectively. “ That’s all, sir? ” 

“ One other detail,” corrected the broker with 
grim humor. “ The box that contained the ruby 
is still on my desk where I left it — but now it is 
empty! ” 

At a slight gesture from the butler, the two men 
moved into the room and stood staring at the little 
white box as though waiting for it to reveal the 
identity of the person whose predatory fingers had 
dipped into it during the night. The box lay there, 
closed and apparently containing its precious jewel. 

“ That sort of knocks out my idea that it’s just 
mislaid,” mused Peters. “ If it was that, or if it had 
just dropped behind something, the box would prob- 
[ 110 ] 


The Switch-key 


ably have gone too. Did you take it out yourself, 
perhaps, sir? ” 

“No. I merely opened the lid and placed the box 
where you see it.” 

They set themselves rather hopelessly to search 
the room, but, in spite of this feeling of pessimism, 
their hunt was made systematically and thoroughly. 
They explored every inch of the floor, lifted the rugs 
and shook them, moved the heavy leather furniture 
and thrust inquisitive fingers down the edges of its 
upholstery. Their labor was fruitless, and when 
they made an end of it, they were satisfied that the 
ruby was not in the library. 

n How about the safe, sir? ” 

“ That doesn’t appear to have been touched.” 

“Wouldn’t it be just as well to look inside, sir, 
and make sure? ” 

Jerry Bronson forthwith sank to his knees and 
busied himself with the combination. In his chas- 
tened mood, he was eager to fall in with any sug- 
gestion from anybody. His trembling fingers turned 
the little knob to and fro, missing the combination 
the first two times but catching it successfully at 
the third attempt. Jerry pulled open the door and 
[ 111 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


peered eagerly within, then turned over the contents 
of various trays and compartments while the butler 
waited patiently for his report. At last the broker 
re-locked the safe and stood erect. 

“ Nothing has been touched,” he declared. 

“ That’s queer too, don’t you think, sir? ” Peters 
contemplated the strong-box. “ It’s a nice little 
safe, sir, but I shouldn’t think it would fool a burg- 
lar more than five minutes, if he knew his trade. 
You’d have thought a regular cracksman would 
have had a shot at it rather than go off with just a 
loose ruby he was lucky enough to find waiting for 
him.” 

Had the butler slightly emphasized the words 
“ regular cracksman ” or had Jerry only imagined 
it? At all events, that moment witnessed the birth 
of a fearful suspicion in the broker’s mind. He did 
not have the courage to look directly at his com- 
panion, but stole a sideways look to see if the man’s 
face revealed any trace of the same sickening 
thought. He caught, however, no responsive look 
from that quarter. The butler’s features had never 
seemed more impassive than at that instant, and 
Jerry ventured a trembling question. 

[ 112 ] 


The Switch-key 


“ The — the doors and windows, Peters ; were — 
were they — ? ” 

“ I’ve been waiting for you to ask that, sir, and 
I’ve got my answer ready.” The butler’s voice was 
very grave. “ I can take my oath, sir, that every 
door and window was locked carefully when I came 
down this morning, just as I left them when I went 
up last night. You know, the first thing I do every 
day is to throw open the whole downstairs part of 
the house to let in the air, and it is quite impossible 
that the fastenings should have been tampered with 
without my noticing it.” 

Jerry winced at the answer so firmly delivered 
and so evidently the expression of the man’s pro- 
found conviction, but he caught at a vagrant hope 
suggested by Peters’ account of his morning routine. 

“ Isn’t it possible that a sneak-thief might have 
slipped into the house while you were opening up? 
I mean, if you were in the rear, couldn’t he get in 
at the front without your hearing him? ” 

“ But it didn’t happen that way, sir.” The but- 
ler’s tone was respectful but very decided. “ I came 
down by the back stairs and opened that part of the 
house first, and after I came here to the front it 
[ 113 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


would have been quite impossible for anybody to 
get in or out of this library without my seeing him. 
You know yourself, sir, that the arrangement of 
these rooms makes that certain.” 

“ But, Peters, that — that means . . Jerry 
could not finish. 

“ If you’ll excuse me, sir, I don’t think it is for 
you or me to decide what it means.” 

“ Oh ! ” The broker gave a little groan as he recog- 
nized the implication contained in those words. He 
sat down in the chair before his desk and patted his 
brow with a handkerchief. “ You are thinking of 
the police! Yes, we must notify them at once, I 
suppose.” 

“ It’s the usual thing to do, sir.” 

“ It is terrible to think of them in this house — 
and just when poor little Cicely needs all our at- 
tention. ... It will be an awful shock to Mrs. 
Bronson.” He sighed and drew the telephone 
toward him, but paused with his hand on the re- 
ceiver. “ By the way, Peters, I want you to under- 
stand that I accept the full responsibility for this 
wretched business ; it is a responsibility that I recog- 
nize, and that I will not shirk; if we do not recover 
[ 114 ] 


The Switch-key 


the ruby I shall certainly indemnify Mr. McKittrick 
for the full value of his loss.” 

“ Ah ! ” The butler, a little startled by the unex- 
pectedness of the pledge, hurriedly recalled his 
thoughts from the grim reflection that the presence 
of the police in the house might indeed prove a 
shock to Mrs. Bronson. “ That is remarkably good 
of you, sir, — especially when one remembers that 
it was all my fault in the first place for bringing 
the stone here.” 

“ Oh — I encouraged you ! No, Peters, I’ve paid 
for my mistakes before this, and I expect I shall 
have to pay now for my carelessness.” 

The butler did some rapid thinking. It was very 
important to recover the ruby, but it was very un- 
pleasant to think of recovering it through the arrest 
of Mrs. Bronson — and that was the least that could 
be expected if the heavy-handed police took charge 
of the case and discovered the powerful motive sup- 
plied by her bridge debts. And, worse than that, 
what would be the effect on kindly old Bronson if 
such a suspicion were even breathed against his 
wife? Peters had found his liking for Jerry grow- 
ing stronger and stronger as the quiet days passed, 
[ 115 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


and he had never liked him better than at this in- 
stant when the broker temporarily thrust aside his 
own worries in order to reassure a servant. The 
old boy was certainly a good sport — 

“ One moment, sir ! ” The butler, seized with 
an idea, threw out his hand in time to stop Jerry 
from lifting the telephone receiver. “ You are 
about to call up the police, sir? ” 

“ Naturally.” 

“ Before you do, sir, I think I ought to tell you 
that Mr. McKittrick has almost a horror of the reg- 
ular police. He has several funny notions, sir, and 
I’ve just remembered that that’s one of them. He 
hates publicity, and I’ve heard him say that he’d 
just as soon tell a secret to a newspaper as to a 
policeman.” 

“ But, Peters — ! ” Jerry Bronson looked his 
amazement. “ What do you want me to do? You 
can hardly expect me to reimburse McKittrick with- 
out making some effort to find the ruby — and then, 
there is the matter of right and wrong! ” The 
broker’s jaw was set at a sterner angle than Peters 
had ever seen it before. “ The thief should be pun- 
ished — no matter who he is ! ” 

[ 116 ] 


The Switch-key 


“ I feel sure Mr. McKittrick would not insist 
upon that if he can only recover his ruby,” answered 
the butler steadily. “ What I was going to advise, 
sir, was a private detective — if you can put your 
hands on a good one.” 

“A private detective!” Jerry Bronson started 
visibly and shot a keen glance at the butler — con- 
found ’em, why didn’t they ever drop those impen- 
etrable masks ! “ And suppose I did engage 
one — ? ” 

“ Well, sir, he would get all the facts just as easily 
as the regular police, but he would be employed by 
you and bound absolutely by your instructions. It 
would be his affair to find the ruby and identify the 
thief — and then it would be time enough to con- 
sider the matter of punishment.” 

The speech was like a knife in Bronson’s heart. 
Had the butler put it in so many words, he could not 
have said more plainly : ‘ This thief is of your own 
household; don’t talk of punishment unless you 
wish to punish yourself also, through sorrow and 
disgrace! ’ The imputation was so distressing that 
Jerry could scarcely bear it. His breath began to 
come with difficulty. He rose unsteadily. 

[ 117 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Let us go out on the piazza, Peters. IPs — it’s 
close here. . . .” 

The butler looked at him in quick concern. 

“ Excuse me, sir, but I think a bite of breakfast 
would do you more good than anything else. Let 
me bring you a cup of coffee, at least, in the dining- 
room.” 

“ Thank you, Peters. Perhaps you are right.” 

The coffee did have a revivifying effect, and the 
broker began to take more careful stock of the situ- 
ation although he did not yet put it into words, 
even to himself, the fear that was beginning to 
possess him. He looked up from his second cup. 

“ Where on earth is Mr. Sidney, Peters? Not 
down yet? ” 

“ Eve not seen him, sir. But it’s only a few 
minutes past eight and he often doesn’t come down 
until quite half past.” 

A few minutes past eight! Portentous events 
make minutes seem like hours, and an hour like a 
half day. Bronson could have sworn it was almost 
noon. 

An approaching footstep made them both glance 
at the door, and with Sidney in their minds they 
[ 118 ] 


The Switch-key 


confidently expected him to appear in the door- 
way. But it was Joan who entered, fresh and radi- 
ant in spite of her nocturnal vigils. 

“ Good-morning, Cousin Jerry! Good-morning, 
Peters! Get me some breakfast, do! I’m nearly 
famished.” She dropped a dutiful kiss on the tip of 
Jerry’s nose, seated herself in her place, and was 
busy for a moment with her napkin. “ I stopped 
in for a peek at Cicely. Do you know, that child 
is still sound asleep — looking like a rosebud in a 
snow-bank. I’m sure she’s quite fit again. Why! ” 
She had taken her first good look at her cousin. 
“ What’s the matter, Cousin Jerry? ” 

“ Matter enough, Joan. McKittrick’s ruby is 
missing — and I’m very much afraid it’s been stolen.” 

“My aunt!” thought Joan. Then her mind 
flashed back to the few words she had exchanged 
with Sidney in the library two days before, and her 
cheek paled at the unpleasant memory. “ How did 
the thieves get into the safe? ” 

Jerry nerved himself to relate everything he knew 
about the disappearance of the jewel, and he was 
still in the middle of his story when Peters came 
from the pantry bearing the girl’s breakfast. Jerry 

[ 119 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


paused in his narrative, and Joan shot a question 
at him during the opportune lull. 

“ How did they get into the house? ” 

“ It doesn’t look as if they did,” answered her 
cousin heavily. “ I may as well tell you at once, 
Joan, that it appears to have been what the police 
call an ‘ inside job.’ Peters found all the windows 
and doors carefully locked this morning.” Jerry 
rubbed his disordered hair. “ But it’s almost in- 
conceivable to me that any member of this house- 
hold could have admitted the thief, much less 
stooped to theft himself.” 

“ Rot ! ” said Joan tersely and vigorously, and in 
some fashion, the word was the most comforting 
that either Jerry or Peters had heard that day. 
“ That’s absurd ! A regular burglar did it of course, 
and Peters is simply mistaken about the fastenings 
being in order.” 

“ I’m afraid not, Miss.” 

Joan, like Peters a little earlier, did some rapid 
thinking and also arrived at some swift decisions. 
Despite her prompt rejection of the “ inside job ” 
theory, she knew in her heart that there was reason 
to believe that it might have been that — and that 
[ 120 ] 


The Switch-key 


she herself quite possibly had a better reason than 
anyone else to believe so. She abruptly decided 
that she could never reveal Sidney’s unfortunate 
remark about a can-opener and his uncle’s safe. 
Then she recollected her adventure of the night 
when she had seen Peters leaving the library about 
one o’clock and she decided to save that bit of evi- 
dence for Jerry’s private ear. Her third decision 
was to say nothing at all about anything, which 
appealed to her as being the surest way to avoid 
making any slip that would incriminate Sidney. 
Yes, that was the best course to take, at least until 
she had made up her mind whether or not Sidney 
could have stooped so low. 

Joan’s appetite was not proof against such irri- 
tating cogitations, and the breakfast for which she 
had pined turned out after all to be distasteful. 
She forced herself to swallow a few mouthfuls, then 
impulsively pushed back her chair and rose from 
the table. 

“ Cousin Jerry, are you going to use the car this 
morning? No? Then I’ll take it now and run down 
to the druggist; there’s a prescription that Dr. 
Strong left to be made up in the morning.” 

[ 121 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


She left the room, followed by Bronson. There 
were still many things to be discussed by the 
two men most concerned in the loss of the ruby, so 
he beckoned to Peters to accompany him, and they 
turned into the hall together in time to catch an 
exclamation of surprise from Joan, who had gone 
into the library. 

“ Hello ! I say, Cousin Jerry, have you got the 
switch-key? I put it in here yesterday afternoon, 
and now it’s gone.” 

They found her beside the desk, gazing into its 
right-hand drawer, which she had pulled out as 
far as it would go. She waited for him to answer, 
but when his response came it was not in the least 
what she had expected. 

“ You'll have to ask Sidney, my dear. Have you 
forgotten that he took the car last night for Dr. 
Strong? ” 

Bronson’s voice was curiously quiet considering 
his sensations. Here, he thought, was the very 
thing he had dreaded most; proof positive that 
Sidney had entered the library during the course of 
the preceding evening! 

Joan read his face and inwardly fumed at the bad 

[ 122 ] 


The Switch-key 


luck that had led her unwittingly to score a point 
against her scapegrace cousin in spite of all her 
good intentions. Well — it was done now beyond 
helping! She shrugged her shoulders and managed 
to reply lightly enough. 

“ That’s very tiresome of him ! Is he still in his 
room? I’ll go up and get it from him.” 

She moved towards the door, but had hardly 
taken three steps when her attention was caught 
by the sound of an automobile coming up the road, 
its engine pulsing with a beat that seemed very 
familiar. When it turned in the gate, and she heard 
the unmistakable whirr of the horn that she blew so 
often herself, doubt was no longer possible. 

“ Why, there’s the car now ! ” she cried. 

The three of them, moved by a common impulse 
of surprise, trooped out to the veranda. There, sure 
enough, was the dark-blue car, at its wheel a some- 
what grimy young man whom they recognized as 
the one handy-man of the garage near the station. 

“ Where did you get the car? ” demanded 
Bronson. 

“ From Mr. Durant, sir. He drove in and left it 
just before we closed last night. Said we were to 

[ 123 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


bring it around for you this morning and tell you 
that he’d gone to town on the midnight local.” 

There was a moment during which they all stared 
at him in stupefied silence. It was Joan who came 
to the scratch. 

“ I’m sure we’re very much obliged to you for 
your trouble,” she said sweetly, and smiled upon the 
grimy young man as though he had been the bearer 
of the best news she had ever heard — instead of 
the worst. 


[ 124 ] 


Chapter Nine 

SIDNEY LEAVES TOWN 

T HE young man from the garage took his de- 
parture, all innocent of the turmoil he had 
excited in the breasts of the three people he left 
behind him on the veranda. They stared gloomily 
at the blue car for a long minute; then Joan pulled 
herself together. 

“I'm off! ” she declared. She got into the car, 
settled herself at the wheel, drew on a pair of stout 
driving-gloves that she took from a pocket in the 
door, and turned hopefully to the two men who 
watched her silently. “ Do come along, Cousin 
Jerry, and blow some of those nasty notions out of 
your head.” 

He shook the member in question disconsolately. 
“ Thanks, Joan, but I must go upstairs and break 
this news to your Cousin Mary.” 

The car slid off, snorting back at him as if it 
[ 125 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


shared the opinion of its fair driver, and Bronson 
turned to the butler. 

“ Peters,” he said slowly, “ I’ve been thinking 
over your idea of getting a private detective, and I 
believe that it is the best thing to do under — under 
the circumstances. But only provided that McKit- 
trick agrees — I insist on his approval. After all 
we have only your belief that he wishes to dispose of 
his ruby; he may prefer on the other hand to re- 
cover it, and in that case it should rest with him to 
decide what steps are to be taken.” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ I feel that he should be telegraphed at once and 
put in possession of the facts, and I'll leave it to you 
to do so, since a telegram of such importance had 
better reach him from you than from an utter stran- 
ger. Tell him anything else that suggests itself to 
you, but be sure and ask his authority to substitute 
a private detective for the police.” 

“ In the meantime, sir, don’t you think it would 
be as well to engage someone and let him get to 
work? Something must be done no matter what 
Mr. McKittrick likes. Even if Mr. McKittrick 
doesn’t approve, your man can still turn over the 
[ 126 ] 


Sidney Leaves Town 


results of his investigation to the police, and then 
we won’t have lost any time.” 

u A good idea, Peters. I’ll attend to it as soon 
as I get to my office. 

“ And I’ll send off that telegram at once, sir, if 
you think I’d better. We may get an answer from 
Mr. McKittrick this evening if our telegram catches 
him early and he wires immediately.” 

“ Do so by all means. The telegraph office is at 
the station, you know.” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

The butler set off upon his errand without delay, 
first getting his hat from his room. He passed 
through the kitchen on his way out of the house, 
and he was not surprised to find Mrs. O’Malley 
and 'Julia deeply mystified by his long conference 
with the head of the house. 

“ An’ what have you been up to the whole live- 
long mornin’?” demanded the cook. “ Lavin’ us 
us here to ate our heads off wid curiosity, let alone 
havin’ to fix the madam’s breakfast tray for her! ” 

“ Is there anything wrong with the child? ” asked 
Julia, her sullen features momentarily softened by 
a look of concern for the suffering little Cicely, to 
[ 127 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


whom she was devoted. There was, after all, a 
tender spot in the girl’s nature. 

Peters could see no point in keeping them in ig- 
norance of what had occurred; they must know 
sooner or later, and they might better get the truth 
from him than to pick up a lot of misinformation 
by eavesdropping. 

“ Something rather queer happened last night,” 
he said. “ When Mr. Bronson went to bed he left 
a valuable ruby on his desk, and this morning it’s 
missing. I’m afraid there’s no doubt that it was 
stolen.” 

“ The saints preserve us ! ” Mrs. O’Malley’s ca- 
pacious mouth hung open in surprise. “ Who iver 
heard th’ like o’ — ” 

“ Hello — watch out! ” 

Peters sprang forward as he spoke, not in time 
to catch Julia Shaughnessy’s falling body, but in 
time to break the worst shock of its impact upon the 
tiled floor of the kitchen. The girl had gone down 
as if pole-axed. Not a premonitory cry or sign had 
she made. She simply collapsed. The butler, 
stooping over her, was lost in amazement. 

“ Whatever made her do that? ” he muttered. 

[ 128 ] 


Sidney Leaves Town 


“ It seems I’m a poor hand at breaking bad news, 
but why the deuce — ? ” 

“ Gwan out o’ here ! ” came a terse command in 
his ear. “ If she comes ’round an’ sees your face it 
may send her off again ! ” 

Mrs. O’Malley’s big, gentle hands were already 
busy about the girl’s neck, and Peters discreetly 
withdrew from the scene — taking with him the face 
that had provoked the cook’s unkind remark. He 
started off on his errand to the railroad station, 
walked rather slowly as he puzzled over the incident 
he had just witnessed. 

It seemed to him that it was an extraordinary way 
for Julia to behave, for she was normally a stolid, 
self-contained girl with no suggestion of the hyster- 
ical in her outward carriage. It could not have 
been the mere fact of a theft in the house that had 
caused her to swoon — there must have been some 
weightier reason than that, he felt sure. Yet it 
didn’t altogether look as if she could be concerned 
in the disappearance of the ruby, or she would 
scarcely have fainted at an announcement that she 
would then be expecting. Had she been bluffing? 
Peters answered his own question with a firm nega- 
[ 129 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


tive; no actress living, he was positive, could have 
gone down the way Julia had unless she was abso- 
lutely unconscious. He was still frowning over the 
problem as he reached the station, when his atten- 
tion was entirely given to the business of writing 
a telegram whose composition was not devoid of 
certain embarrassing features. 

Jerry Bronson had gone direct from the piazza 
in search of his wife, whom he found at Cicely’s 
bedside. He drew her out of earshot of the child 
and as gently as possible told her about the van- 
ished ruby. She was obviously much upset, and 
at sight of her pale, frightened face he forebore to 
mention his fear that the theft had been an inside 
job, much less that his suspicions were being slowly 
but steadily directed to one of the members of their 
own little circle. He was relieved at her swiftly- 
expressed assumption that some clever burglar had 
forced an entrance to the house. 

“ No doubt, my dear, no doubt.” 

“You — you have notified the police, I sup- 
pose? ” she whispered, her white face partly turned 
away from him. 


[ 130 ] 


Sidney Leaves Town 


“ No. Peters suggested that a private detective 
would be better, and as he must be even more anx- 
ious to recover the ruby than I am, I thought it 
only right to consider his wishes — especially as he 
tells me that McKittrick would prefer a private 
investigation. 

“Oh! I am glad of that! A detective will be 
bad enough, but to have had the police in the 
house — ! ” 

“ Yes, I knew you wouldn’t have liked that.” 

“ I’d have hated it! ” declared his wife with con- 
vincing vigor. 

She repeated this view to Joan on a later occasion, 
and added with engaging candor, “ You see, I knew 
I could manage a private detective if he wasn’t too 
impossible, but the police would be disastrous! 
They’ve such an uncanny way of finding things out 
and one never knows what they may tell — or 
whom! ” 

Jerry Bronson, speeding to New York to make his 
belated appearance at the office, was happily igno- 
rant of his wife’s somewhat cryptic cogitations or he 
would have had an even more depressed air than 
w T hen he finally seated himself at his desk. He 
[ 131 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


immediately sent for Bartlett, upon whose shrewd- 
ness and steady optimism he knew he could count, 
and laid his troubles before him, omitting no detail 
either of fact or fancy from his recital; as he ex- 
pected, the loyal Pear instantly took up the cud- 
gels on behalf of the absent Sidney, whom he liked. 

“ I think you’re doing the boy a grave injustice, 
Jerry,” he remonstrated earnestly. “ Suppose he is 
a bit wild? That doesn’t mean he’s a thief! Sup- 
pose things do look black against him? You 
wouldn’t hang a dog on circumstantial evidence any 
more than I would ! You’re fond of the boy I know, 
and if you aren’t careful you’ll hurt yourself as 
much as you’ll hurt him.” 

“ I know. . . .” Jerry’s eyes showed his misery. 
“ What do you suggest my doing, Henry? ” 

“ A heart-to-heart talk with Sidney at the earliest 
possible moment is what you owe to both yourself 
and him; you must tell him frankly that suspicion 
points more to him than to anyone else, and give 
him a chance to explain and defend himself. I ex- 
pect you can tell by his manner the present state 
of his conscience, and if I’m not mistaken you will 
bring the interview to a close with an apology.” 

[ 132 ] 


Sidney Leaves Town 


“ I sincerely trust so, Henry.” 

“ There is one other thing you should make sure 
of before seeing Sidney,” pursued the Bartlett Pear 
meditatively. “ Forgive my referring to one of your 
little failings, Jerry, but you realize yourself how 
absent-minded you are ; have you thought of that in 
connection with this affair? Are you sure, when 
Mrs. Bronson called you, that you didn’t stick the 
ruby in your pocket? ” 

“ Henry, I’ve worn my pockets out looking 
through them.” 

“ Perhaps you instinctively thrust the ruby into 
some hiding-place in the library before you left? 
Every room has little nooks that will baffle inexpert 
searchers, so you needn’t tell me that you and 
the butler wore out the library! ” He thought a 
moment. “For instance, when you get home to- 
night you’d better probe your ink-well ; I once read 
a very clever yarn where some bright lad concealed 
a pearl that way.” 

“ I don’t blame you for taking my habitual care- 
lessness into account, Henry, but I really can’t see 
that it explains this trouble. I assure you that I 
raced from my desk too quickly when I heard Mary 
[ 133 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


call to have had time to hide the ruby, even if I’d 
thought of it.” He shook his head sadly. “ I wish 
I had — oh, I wish I had! ” 

“ Well, I hope it will turn up, Jerry — and I think 
that butler of yours ought to be strung up for tak- 
ing such chances with another man’s property.” 

“ I daresay, Henry. But in common justice 
they’d have to prepare a companion noose on the 
same gibbet for me! ” 

“ Hmm. True! ” The Bartlett Pear came to his 
substantial feet with his elephantine grace. 
“ Meanwhile, I’ve got to be off on that Van Nos- 
trand business.” He cast a commiserating glance 
at his partner, who checked him with a question 
before he disappeared. 

“ Henry, do you know the name of any private 
inquiry agents? ” 

“ Traynor, Foster, and Henderson,” responded the 
Pear glibly. 

“ That sounds familiar,” muttered Bronson. 
“ Where have I heard those names before? ” 

“ In your own mail, you blessed old idiot! Don’t 
you remember showing me their ad. a few days 
ago? ” 


[ 134 ] 


Sidney Leaves Town 


“ So I did — so I did ! ” admitted Bronson, ready 
as ever to poke fun at his weakness. “ Really, I 
must go in for Swedish massage, or bust develop- 
ment, or whatever they call that new-fangled sys- 
tem of memory training.” 

“ You’ll be handsomely busted all right if you 
don’t hang on to your valuables a little better,” was 
the Pear’s somewhat cruel rejoinder as he left the 
room. 

Jerry Bronson, with all his faults, had one virtue 
that made him almost unique among men ; when he 
asked for advice, he usually followed whatever was 
given him. Accordingly, the Bartlett Pear had no 
sooner left the building than Jerry hurried forth 
also, his destination being the big insurance com- 
pany where Sidney was employed. 

A fresh burden was added to his already sufficient 
load of suspicion when an office boy of the Universal 
told him that Mr. Durant was absent for the day; 
and Jerry was obliged to do some quick thinking 
while the boy waited for a possible message. He did 
not wish to excite comment by too pointly asking 
questions as to his nephew’s probable whereabouts, 
but it fortunately occurred to him that there was 
[ 135 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


a matter of insurance upon which he wished to con- 
sult the General Agent of the company — who 
happily was Sidney’s immediate superior in the 
office. He therefore sent in his name to Mr. Mait- 
land, and because the firm of Bronson and Bartlett 
brought in a handsome volume of insurance every 
year, the august potentate himself emerged from his 
den and escorted him back therein. 

Jerry presented his problem and recorded its solu- 
tion; he chatted lightly about various topics of the 
day; he cordially confirmed the General Agent’s 
blistering opinion of the Legislature at Albany; it 
was not until he had risen to depart that he 
broached the subject nearest to his heart, and thus 
achieved a fair appearance of casualness. 

“ By the way, Maitland, how is that nephew of 
mine getting along? ” 

“ Very well indeed,” answered the General Agent 
promptly. “ In fact, it was on my mind to tell you 
something that I think you will be glad to hear. A 
rather peculiar situation has arisen in one of our 
up-state agencies — Mainesville — and as our reg- 
ular field agent is unable to get there just now we 
have decided to let Durant go up and try his hand 
[ 136 ] 


Sidney Leaves Town 


at straightening things out. It is an affair of con- 
siderable importance, and if he makes good — as 
I am almost certain he will — it will mean his 
early promotion to a field of his own. So you see 
you have every reason to feel proud of him! ” 

“ That is splendid news! ” cried Jerry, and indeed 
he was glad to hear something good of the precious 
Prodigal. “ By the way, I — er — rather expected 
to find him here now; can you tell me where I am 
likely to catch him? ” 

“ Why, no, Y m afraid I can’t. He’s starting up- 
state for us this evening, and he naturally asked for 
to-day free to make his preparations. I imagine 
you’ll find him at home, packing suit-cases.” 

“ Of course,” said Bronson. “ That is surely 
where he is.” 

He took his leave outwardly cheerful, but, in his 
heart, he knew that home was the very last place he 
would find Sidney; the lively young wretch kept 
plenty of clothes at an up-town club, and it was ex- 
tremely probable that he would take his departure 
straight from New York rather than from Clare- 
dale, where the shadow of Maybelle darkened the 
usually sunny skies. And he would especially avoid 
[ 137 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


home if he had been concerned in the disappearance 
of McKittrick’s ruby! 

Jerry had looked up the address of the detective 
agency — which was next on his calling list — and 
went directly to that office after leaving the Uni- 
versal. He found the place without difficulty, and 
he was rather pleasantly impressed to find himself 
in a suite of offices whose quiet but excellent ap- 
pointments bespoke no mean prosperity. There was 
only one occupant in the outer office — a rather old 
young woman, neatly dressed, who came forward 
with questioning eyebrows. 

“ I’d like to see one of the firm on — on private 
business.” 

“ Your name, please? ” 

“ Jeremiah Bronson.” 

The expression of cold indifference with which 
she had met him seemed to fade a little from her 
manner. She smiled faintly. 

“ Oh, yes. I think we’ve been circularizing you, 
haven’t we? ” 

“ Quite true. But you must have a remarkable 
memory to recall one name out of so many ! ” 

“ You have to have a remarkable memory in this 
[ 138 ] 


Sidney Leaves Town 


business,” she explained. “ Only Mr. Traynor is in 
at this minute, and he is engaged, but I will take 
your card in, and I’m sure he’ll be free in a short 
time.” 

She went off through a door marked “ Private,” 
and Jerry Bronson sat down to await her return. 
She came back almost instantly and confirmed her 
prophecy that Mr. Traynor would soon be at leis- 
ure, and then returned to some work that was en- 
gaging her attention at a neighboring table. 

While he waited, Jerry idly studied the girl’s face 
as she bent to her task; it seemed to him a little 
hard, as though her life had not been free from bit- 
terness and disillusionment. But then, of course, 
it might well be that this business, besides training 
one’s memory, would have a tendency to harden 
a woman. Certainly he would not wish Cicely to 
grow up to be the secretary of a private de- 
tective. . . . 

A door opened, and Jerry came out of his revery 
at the sound of a pleasant voice addressing him: 

“Mr. Bronson? I’m sorry to have kept you 
waiting. . . .” 


[ 139 ] 



Chapter Ten 


THE DETECTIVE 

J ERRY BRONSON, quite unconsciously, had 
visualized the head of a private inquiry office 
as a heavy- jo wled, beefy veteran retired from 
the regular force, and he received his second 
pleasant surprise when he looked up at the man who 
had spoken his name. Traynor was tall and lean, 
strongly-built without being clumsy, with a clear- 
eyed, smooth-shaven, not unprepossessing face; he 
was well dressed in a dark blue suit, was rather 
surprisingly young for the head of a big detective 
agency, but discounted his youthful appearance by 
an alert manner that suggested keenness and abil- 
ity; his eyes were set well apart, were dark gray, and 
frequently twinkled with a kindly good-humor. As 
he turned to lead the way into his sanctum, Jerry 
noticed that his head was of the shape that phren- 
ologists associated with brains. 

In less than half a minute the broker found him- 
[ 141 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


self seated in a most restful chair and taking the 
first contented puff of a wonderful cigar that Tray- 
nor had produced from a fine old mahogany box. 
The whole atmosphere of this private office spoke 
of comfort that nearly approached luxury — the 
sort of an office, thought Jerry, where a man whose 
every sense was indulged and pampered might re- 
veal his closest secrets and scarcely realize that he 
was speaking. It was a study, or den, rather than a 
business office, and the only harsh note in it that 
recalled the sterner outside world of affairs was a 
massive safe that stood in a corner of the room, 
the firm’s name inscribed across its doors in large 
gilt lettering. 

“ Now, Mr. Bronson,” said Traynor encourag- 
ingly. 

Jerry waited for no second bidding, but entered 
upon his story almost automatically. He had dis- 
cussed the whole affair with Peters, had related the 
tale once to Joan, once — slightly edited — to his 
wife, and once to the Bartlett Pear, so that it was 
no wonder that he now found himself almost letter 
perfect. He ended his narrative in an amazingly 
short time. 


[ 142 ] 


The Detective 


“ Very good,” said Traynor approvingly, finger- 
ing the pages of a small memorandum book in which 
he had made an occasional note. I wish all our 
clients were as clear and concise. Of course there 
are some points that the layman overlooks, or we 
would soon be out of business! ” He laughed 
pleasantly. “ Keys, for example; how about your 
front door? ” 

“ I have a latch-key, and my nephew has 
another.” 

“The ubiquitous Sidney! How his name does 
keep cropping up at every point! And the back 
door? ” 

“ I hardly know. The cook has a key, I presume 
— but she has been with us for years and, I’m 
sure, is perfectly honest.” 

“ My experience has shown that cooks usually 
are. Once in awhile you’ll find a culinary crook, 
but they’re rare. I suppose there is a mellowing 
influence about their work that keeps them con- 
tented — and of course they’re well-fed! Under 
such circumstances there is but small incentive to 
crime — but, pardon me, this is a digression! Now, 
about the jeweler’s box in which you left the ruby; 
[ 143 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


do you know if anyone has touched it since you 
found it empty this morning? ” 

“ No one has. Peters — my butler, you remem- 
ber — suggested our leaving it strictly alone in the 
hope that it might yield important finger-prints 
upon examination.” 

“ Ah. A shrewd fellow, this Peters! ” 

“ Of course,” added Jerry, as became a student 
of modern detective literature, “ the thief may have 
worn gloves. They often do, don’t they? ” 

“ Oh, yes. But in this case it is possible that who- 
ever took the ruby may have seized an opportunity 
that was unexpectedly offered, and have yielded to 
temptation on the mad impulse of a moment. If 
that were so he would hardly have stopped to put 
on gloves, even if he were possessed of such un- 
likely articles, on a hot summer evening.” 

“ A moment of impulse ! ” faltered Jerry. “ Do 
you mean — do you think this theft was the unpre- 
meditated action of — of someone — that is, do you 
believe it was an inside job? ” 

“My dear sir!” The young detective looked 
reproachful. “ That would be a drastic view to 
adopt at this early stage of the investigation. I 
[ 144 ] 


The Detective 


cannot help having my own ideas, based on what 
you have told me — though the ideal detective pre- 
serves an open mind theoretically to the bitter end! 
— but you mustn’t expect me to produce them thus 
soon in the game as my considered opinions.” 

“ Of course not. And — you will take the case? ” 

“ With pleasure, sir. And remember, Mr. Bron- 
son, that the hardest nut cracks under sufficient 
pressure.” 

“ You will send a man to Claredale? ” 

“ I’d rather handle that end of it myself ; but 
there are one or two other places that I will send 
operatives — and of course the pawn-shops must be 
notified.” He shuffled the leaves of his note-book 
and poised his pencil above a blank sheet. “ If 
you please, what is the name of the town for which 
your nephew is leaving to-night? ” 

“ Mainesville, Oneida County,” answered Jerry, 
his heart sinking. 

“ And the name of his club here? ” 

“ The Albany.” 

The detective’s quick eye noted the other’s pertur- 
bation. 

“ You mustn’t regard these questions too seri- 
[ 145 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


ously, Mr. Bronson. The evidence against Sidney 
is very circumstantial, very hypothetical, but one 
must cover every possible chance in a case of this 
kind. Frankly, I consider the young man well worth 
watching — and so should you, for if my operative 
reports nothing suspicious in his movements it 
should go far to relieve your mind of its present 
doubts.” 

“ That is so,” admitted Jerry. 

“ The object of our inquiry won’t be directly 
approached, or if he is, it will be done so delicately 
that he will never dream of connecting the incident 
with his own affairs; I can always rely on my em- 
ployees to use the utmost discretion.” 

“ When will you come to Claredale, Mr. 
Traynor? ” 

“ In an hour or two at the latest. Perhaps you 
will be good enough to ’phone Mrs. Bronson to ex- 
pect me? Then if you have business to attend to 
in town you need not feel that your presence is 
required at home.” 

“ Thank you, I will telephone,” promised Jerry. 
“ Then I’ll go to the Downtown Club and try to 
order a lunch that will help me to forget this 
[ 146 ] 


The Detective 


confounded mess. It’s a tremendous relief to me 
already to know that I have placed the matter in 
competent hands.” 

“ The Downtown Club? A man for whom I once 
did a small service is in the habit of lunching there. 
General Prescott. I wonder if you happen to know 
him? ” 

“ I do. We are not precisely friends, but we are 
what I might call old speaking acquaintances.” 

“ Well, if you run across him to-day, give him my 
kindest remembrances.” Traynor rose with a hint 
of finality, and Jerry struggled out of his comfort- 
able chair. 

The detective courteously ushered his latest client 
from the office and to the elevator, gave him a quick 
hand-clasp, and left him with a parting injunction 
not only to hope for the best but to expect it. 

Jerry had spoken no more than the simple truth 
when he had said that he felt greatly relieved at 
having shifted the burden of investigation to more 
capable shoulders. He was sincerely grateful to 
Peters for having suggested a private detective, and 
he fervently hoped that McKittrick would not in- 
sist upon the regular police being notified; that 
[ 147 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


meant notoriety and scandal, whereas Traynor, if 
he were to succeed in identifying the thief, im- 
pressed him as being a very human and sympathetic 
sort of a chap who would make no bones about 
calling off his hounds when requested and there- 
after preserve a discreet silence about the whole 
affair. Under the beneficent influence of this 
new optimism Jerry actually caught himself half 
hoping that Sidney would prove to be the culprit; 
if he could be at once convicted of the crime and ab- 
solved from its punishment, then the incident might 
be used as a powerful lever to hoist him from the 
sticky quicksands of crime back to the straight 
and narrow path of righteousness. . . . 

Jerry halted at the sight of a public telephone 
booth, striving to recall the duty it suggested. Then 
he remembered, and entering it hastily he called 
up his home; it was the butler who presently 
answered. 

“ Hello, Peters. Is there any fresh news? ” 

“ Nothing at all, sir.” 

“ Any message from Mr. Durant? ” 

“ Not a word, sir.” 

“ I’ve just engaged a detective, Peters. He seems 
[ 148 ] 


The Detective 


to take a rather hopeful view of things. . . . He will 
be out there shortly, and of course he’s to have a 
free hand.” 

“ Of course, sir. May I ask his name, sir? ” 

“ Traynor, of Tray nor, Foster and Henderson. 
And now call Mrs. Bronson to the ’phone, please.” 

After a short interval his wife’s voice came to 
his ear, and when he had learned that the doctor 
had come again to see Cicely and pronounced her 
illness nothing more than a serious bilious attack, 
he repeated the information he had just given 
Peters. Mrs. Bronson seemed to welcome the news. 

“ What is he like, Jerry? ” 

“ A nice enough chap, and presumably he has 
some ability.” 

“ Young or old? ” 

“ Quite young.” He thought he heard a little 
sound of satisfaction from the receiver. “ What did 
you say, dear? ” 

“ Nothing, Jerry.” There was a pause for a few 
seconds on the ’phone, and then her voice again; 
“ I suppose you’ve heard nothing from Sidney? ” 

“ Nothing from him, but something rather nice 
of him.” He told her of his conversation with the 
[ 149 ] 


The Mystery oj the Twin Rubies 


General Agent of the Universal, and of how highly 
Maitland had spoken of the boy. 

“You know, Jerry, I’ve been wondering if you 
did quite right to refuse to help him in this last 
business? You don’t suppose that he could have 
had anything to do with — with the ruby? If he 
needed — ” 

“ Hush, dear! He never could have been so fool- 
ish! But we’ll talk that over when I come home. 
Now I must ring off.” 

He left the booth a little less cheerful than he 
had entered it, sorry to have learned that Mary had 
begun to put two and two together for herself. He 
must do his best to keep her from sharing his own 
dark suspicions. . . . 

He glanced about him as he entered the lunch- 
club and immediately spotted the familiar figure 
for which he sought. He lost no time in accosting 
the portly, red-faced gentleman. 

“ Good-morning, General.” 

“ Good-morning, Bronson. How are you, sir? ” 

“ Well, thank you. I’ve just been chatting with 
an acquaintance of yours.” 

“ So? Who was that? ” 

[ 150 ] 


The Detective 


“ A man named Traynor — a private detective." 

“ Ah, yes.’" The General's eyes brightened. 
“Good man, Traynor. He discovered a string of 
pearls that had been taken from Mrs. Prescott's 
jewel-case tucked away as cosily as you please in 
the false bottom of her maid's trunk; it turned out 
afterwards that she was an old hand, but now 
they've got her where she won't find much to steal." 

“ Then you think him competent? " 

“Absolutely." The ancient warrior pricked up 
his ears. “ I hope it’s nothing serious that has taken 
you to him? " 

“ Oh, no. A rather nice ruby is missing from my 
collection, but I daresay it will turn out to have 
been mislaid." 

“ I trust so," said the General politely. 

A friend of his claimed his attention at this mo- 
ment, and Jerry, once more in the clouds, betook 
himself into the dining-room and ordered a sump- 
tuous luncheon; praise from Prescott was indeed a 
high honor, for the old boy was a bit of a fire-eater 
who was always more inclined to knock than to 
boost. Jerry ate with a good appetite, and, instead 
of going straight home as he had planned, he de- 
[ 151 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


cided to pay a brief visit to his office en route to 
the station. 

In this he was wise, though the immediate re- 
sult of his decision annoyed him excessively at the 
time. He arrived at the office to find Bartlett still 
absent on business, and learned that one of the 
firm’s best customers had been telephoning steadily 
at intervals of fifteen minutes in the hope of getting 
a personal interview with one of its heads on a mat- 
ter of pressing importance. Jerry Bronson sighed, 
but loyalty to the absent Pear demanded that he 
should sacrifice his personal affairs to their com- 
mon interest, and when the patient client called up 
again his perseverance was rewarded — and Jerry 
spent the whole afternoon on a deal that promised 
to be as lucrative as it was complicated — and ex- 
asperating ! 

He did not catch a train to Claredale until half 
past six, and then he found a seat only in the smok- 
ing car — the last seat in the train — beside a very 
sporty looking individual in a striped collar, a tilted 
derby, an ancient suit of hand-me-downs, with a 
flashy diamond horse-shoe stuck in a peculiarly 
vivid neck-tie. The individual meant nothing to 
[ 152 ] 


The Detective 


Jerry, and he was quite unconscious of him as a 
companion. 

Jerry opened the newspaper that he had bought 
from the crippled old woman at the entrance — 
opened it so carelessly and with so little concern for 
what he was doing that he did not realize he was 
reading the sporting page until he was startled by 
his neighbor’s voice. 

“ Some race ! ” said the man genially. 

“Eh?” said Mr. Bronson. 

The sporty individual stabbed at the open news- 
paper with a forefinger that had seen better days. 
“ The Middlevale Handicap. Won by Betsy Belle, 
a rank outsider — won by a whisker, sir, at 25 to 1. 
You don’t get ’em like that every day! ” 

“ No, I don’t,” admitted Jerry a little stiffly. He 
turned from the sporting news that did not inter- 
est him to the financial news that did. He noted 
with subdued pleasure that his securities were hold- 
ing their own in a generally weak market, a cir- 
cumstance that might prove useful to him when he 
was finally compelled to sacrifice something to meet 
the demands of Maybelle, McKittrick, and a pri- 
vate detective. . . . 


[ 153 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


In the present scheme of nature, which keeps a 
man’s intelligence deplorably finite, he could not 
possibly know that his securities would ultimately 
prove of less value to him than the twinkling 
hoofs, the straining neck, and the winning whis- 
ker of that rank outsider, “ Betsey Belle.” 


[ 154 ] 


Chapter Eleven 


JULIA SHAUGHNESSY 

P ETERS, after a good deal of thought, evolved 
a suitable telegram to California; he gave a 
sigh of relief as he finally shoved the completed 
message beneath the window of the clerk, and leav- 
ing the station, he strolled slowly homeward, his 
thoughts busy with the mystery of the ruby’s dis- 
appearance. 

The more he pondered Julia Shaughnessy’s faint- 
ing fit the more it puzzled him. But Julia herself 
was something of a puzzle, for that matter, and he 
had caught himself wondering more than once, as 
on the first day he met her, why a strong, healthy 
young woman, not unattractive, should have in- 
cased herself in an armor of bitterness against the 
advances of society in general. In her devotion to 
Cicely, in the way she had petted and nursed a sick 
kitten that had strayed to the Bronson’s door, and 
in her passionate attachment to a crippled sister in 
[ 155 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


England, of whom she frequently spoke, she had 
shown herself a woman of some kindliness; but 
these things were only the high-lights that called 
attention to the darkness of the whole picture, and, 
apart from them, she was morose, self-centered, 
and sarcastic to the point of acidity. 

He dismissed the girl from his mind as being 
an enigma that was temporarily insoluble, and 
turned his thoughts instead to the consideration of 
Sidney Durant. Here was a nature easier to com- 
prehend. The boy was unquestionably wild, and 
Peters, after the manner of butlers, had gleaned 
enough from meal-time conversations to know that 
he was mixed up with a rather fast crowd in the 
city. Also, he had picked up a pawn-ticket one 
morning in the front hall where it lay beneath a 
hat-rack. It was true that the ticket lay exactly 
between two raincoats, one of which had been worn 
by Sidney the previous evening and the other by 
Jerry Bronson, but Peters did not hesitate very long 
over the question of ownership; he had charitably 
restored the little green slip to one of Sidney's 
pockets and had never referred to the matter — and 
as Sidney had been equally reticent it was fair to 
[ 156 ] 


Julia Shaughnessy 


presume that the ticket had found its rightful 
owner. Since the young man drank, kept doubt- 
ful company, and depended upon two uncles to 
support him — Peters smiled at his atrocious pun — 
it was obvious that the boy’s character was essen- 
tially weak. But was he weak enough to stoop to 
theft? It was plain from Bronson’s manner that 
he thought so, but Peters confessed to himself that 
his own psychology was inadequate to determine 
the truth; he only knew that every crook must be 
innocent before he takes his first step on the path- 
way of crime, and that it was within the realms of 
possibility that Sidney had reached the degree of 
moral laxity that enabled him to take that first 
step, when opportunity offered, with perfect readi- 
ness and ease. 

As for Mrs. Bronson, her grim ambition to get 
into Claredale society, her reckless gambling in 
secret defiance of her husband’s prejudice, her dire 
need of money — would these things suffice to con- 
stitute a motive for theft? Peters thought they 
would, especially since she could count on her hus- 
band to shield her from open scandal in the event 
of her being caught. . . . 

[ 157 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


He was not sorry to reach the house at this point 
in his reflections, because he could not help sus- 
pecting her of the theft, and yet, for many reasons, 
was loath to believe her guilty. He was able to 
distract his thoughts from her as he entered the 
kitchen, where he found the cook alone. He has- 
tened to inquire of Julia. 

“ Sure, she’s upstairs lyin’ down, poor gurrl, an’ 
a nice lot o’ work you’ve made for me, between you.” 
“ How’s that, Mrs. O’Malley? ” 

“What would it be but the breakfast dishes? 
Thirty-siven o’ thim as I’m a livin’ soul, not count- 
in’ the knives an 5 forks an’ spoons, o’ which there 
was three million each! ” 

“ I’m sorry,” said Peters with a disarming smile. 
“ But you needn’t have bothered to do them.” 

“ Well, I’d no way of knowing when ye’d be back, 
or how soon the police would be here to put us all 
in jail, so I thought I’d give ye a hand.” 

“ That was very kind of you, and I’ll give you 
a piece of news in return. You needn’t be afraid 
of going to jail just yet, no matter how much you 
deserve it, for Mr. Bronson has decided not to 


[ 158 ] 


Julia Shaughnessy 


notify the police. He’s going to put the case in the 
hands of a private detective.” 

The innuendo as to her deserts would ordinarily 
have been as a red rag to a ready bull, but on this 
occasion Mrs. O’Malley was more interested in 
something else than the butler’s teasing. She 
looked at him keenly. 

“ Faith, I’ll be going upstairs in a minute to tell 
that to Julia! What do ye think was the first thing 
she said to me when she opened her eyes? ” 

“ She looked into your face bending over her 
and said, ‘ Am I in heaven? ’ ” answered Peters 
readily, having long since discovered that the best 
way to extract news from Mrs. O’Malley was to ir- 
ritate her by a flippant indifference. 

“ And if she had, she’d have shown better man- 
ners than iver you did ! ” snorted the cook. “ No, 
what she really said was, ‘ Have the police come 
yet? ’ ” 

“Gosh! That’s a queer one! Did you ask her 
what she meant? ” 

“ I did indade. She said she must have still been 
out of her head and that the reason she fainted was 
because it frightened her to think o’ a burglar havin’ 
[ 159 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


been in the house with the chance to kill us all in 
our slape.” 

“ I expect that’s the truth of it,” said Peters, 
but to himself he added thoughtfully, “ Pretty thin, 
Julia, pretty thin! ” He turned again to the cook 
for further enlightenment. “ Have you known her 
long? ” 

“ It’s the better part of three years since she came 
to the Bronsons’.” 

“ She seems a nice, quiet sort of girl.” 

“ She’s nice enough for all that I know,” an- 
swered Mrs. O’Malley judiciously. “ But she’s a 
queer one, is Julia, an’ she never let’s you get very 
close to her; she has her troubles like the rest of 
us, an’ one o’ thim is that sister of hers in Lunnon.” 

“ Yes, I’ve heard her speak of her.” 

“ Then you know she’s younger than Julia, an’ 
a cripple. It takes a good bit o’ Julia’s wages to 
pay for her keep, an’ lately Julia’s been grieving 
more than iver because she’s heard of an operation 
that might cure her if only she had the money for 
the doctors.” 

“ Oh — the devil! ” 

The words burst from his lips before he could 

[ 160 ] 


Julia Shaughnessy 


check them, and the cook, startled by this unwonted 
language in her kitchen, looked up to read Peters’ 
thought in his face. 

“ Holy Mother forgive me ! ” she cried distress- 
fully. “What am I after sayin’? Mr. Peters, I 
know what you’re thinkin’ but you’ll surely not 
repeat that to a soul! Julia would niver turn her 
hand to such a dirty job even for her sister — ye’ll 
not be doubtin’ that, Mr. Peters! ” 

The butler scratched his smooth-shaven chin. 

“ I see you realize how bad it sounds, Mrs. O’- 
Malley. Lord knows, I don’t want to get any poor 
girl in trouble with the law, but if I’m to keep still 
about what you’ve just told me, then you must 
keep still, too. Not that I expect our silence will 
do Julia much good, for detectives have a way of 
finding out these things for themselves. But you 
and I will talk about this again; now I must take 
my hat and coat upstairs and get to my silver.” 

He left the cook tearfully abusing herself for her 
unguarded confidences, and he did indeed take his 
coat and hat upstairs — but the silver got no at- 
tention that morning. 

He had to pass Julia’s room to reach his own, 

[ 161 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


and he noticed that the girl’s door was tightly 
closed. While he smoothed his hair and put on 
his house clothes, he could hear her moving about 
on the other side of the partition-wall with a quick 
step suggestive of restlessness, and he would have 
given much to know what was passing in her mind. 
He finished his brief toilet, stepped into the hall — 
and smelled smoke! 

At the same moment, his quick eye detected a 
thin gray spiral that stole from Julia’s door-sill and 
dissipated itself as it ascended into the draughty 
hall. . . . 

“ Julia! ” He reached the door in one bound and 
twisted the knob, only to find the door locked; he 
did not stop to weigh the pros and cons of the mat- 
ter, but fearful for the safety of the girl and perhaps 
of the whole house, he drew back and then thrust 
his powerful shoulder against the panels. The 
flimsy lock gave so suddenly that he nearly meas- 
ured his length on the floor inside. 

A single glance around him sufficed to set his fear 
at rest. The window of Julia’s room was wide open, 
so that the girl herself was in no danger of suffoca- 
tion, and the smoke that had alarmed him came 
[ 162 ] 


Julia Shaughnessy 


from nothing more serious than a small heap of pa- 
pers smouldering in a wash-bowl. Julia herself was 
pressed against the farther wall as though fright- 
tened by his abrupt entrance, yet the expression 
in her eyes was less one of fear than of sullen defi- 
ance. A little of this died away as their glances met. 

“ Oh, it’s you, is it? ” she said shortly. She left 
the supporting wall and advanced a few steps with 
a creditable air of nonchalance. “You gave me a 
rare turn.” 

“ That seems to be the best thing I do to-day,” 
he answered quietly. He picked up a water-jug 
that stood near him, but when he stepped toward 
the wash-bowl he saw that the fire had been extin- 
guished by the compactness of the fuel itself. He 
noticed casually that this appeared to consist of a 
number of letters, and one legal-looking document 
with a red seal showing where the heat had curled 
up a corner. “ What are you doing, Julia? Playing 
bonfires? ” 

“ I was just burning some old papers,” she said, 
apparently reassured by his light manner. “ Sure, 
I never dreamed they’d make such a smoke.” 

“ Julia,” he began gently, “ we’ve not known 
[ 163 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


each other very long, but I’d like you to believe that 
I’m your friend. You’ve done some things to-day 
that seem to need explaining, and it’s easy to see 
that you’ve something on your mind. Don’t you 
think it might help you if you told your troubles 
to someone? ” 

She was taken aback by the abruptness of his 
proposal; as he started to speak she regarded him 
suspiciously, but, by the time he had finished, her 
eyes had left his grave face and had shifted their 
gaze to the soft, misty hills that were visible in the 
distance through her window. She did not an- 
swer for nearly a minute, while he waited with ex- 
emplary patience to see how she accepted his tacit 
offer of himself as a confidant. At last she turned 
her head quickly from the window and looked him 
full in the face. 

“ I need help badly enough, Mr. Peters, but if I 
tell you why, and if I believe in your friendship, 
will you promise never to go with it to — to the 
police, or anyone else? I must know, Mr. Peters, 
just how you stand before I tell you anything.” 

“ I’ll promise you nothing in the dark,” he an- 
swered sternly, “ but I will promise you this, Julia; 

[ 164 ] 


Julia Shaughnessy 


whatever you tell me I’ll keep secret unless I’m sure 
that I can speak it out for your own good.” 

Again the quick suspicion flared in her eyes, and 
again it died away. This time she was silent for so 
long that he believed his appeal had been made in 
vain, and then, without any introduction, she looked 
out to the hills and began her story in a voice so 
low that at times he could barely catch her bitter 
words. 

Goodness knows, he hardly needed to hear more 
than a few of them to understand the rest! It 
was a sufficiently sordid narrative, and one that is 
tragically familiar in every police court in the world. 

It told first of a weak, improvident father, of a 
cruel step-mother, of two half-starved children who 
received daily beatings that increased in severity 
until the spine of the younger victim was injured 
permanently. Of course the father died, and of 
course the two girls, still scarcely more than chil- 
dren, soon found themselves pitched into the filthy 
sea of London misery to sink or swim as an indif- 
ferent Providence might decree. The younger girl 
was nearly helpless, and the support of the two fell 
upon the shoulders of the other, who received an oc- 
[ 165 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


casional wage cleverly based on the smallest sum 
that would keep one person. 

The drab years passed in squalid procession with 
never a break in their dull monotony; the crippled 
child required more and more care and the other 
grew more and more sullenly disheartened. Then 
came the day when temptation literally landed at 
Julia’s feet; she was in a crowd of hurrying shop- 
pers when she saw a well-dressed woman drop a 
purse that struck the sidewalk with a pleasant chink, 
and, like a flash, the girl had stooped and whipped 
it up beneath her shawl. The woman did not seem 
to notice her loss, and, for one blissful minute, the 
girl believed herself safe; then came the grip on 
her arm that spelt ruin! A detective had noticed 
her pick up the pocket-book, had waited to see if 
she would return it to the owner, and then had done 
his duty. The woman, apprised of the incident, 
had proved relentless. . . . 

“ And they gave me three years just for that,” 
said Julia somberly, “ and while I was gone they 
put Molly in an institution that ate the very heart 
out of her.” 

Julia’s description of her experience in prison 

[ 166 ] 


Julia Shaughnessy 


was terse but vivid, and Peters shuddered at some of 
her naked phrasing. It was plain that jail had left 
an indelible mark upon her spirit — and no wonder! 

Good conduct reduced her term to two years and 
a half, and when she came out she was helped by 
a prisoners’ aid society to obtain a situation as a 
servant. It was the first regular employment she 
had ever had — she owed that to the jail at least! 
— and for a while she throve mightily on her small 
but steady wage. Molly, entirely helpless now, was 
moved from the institution to a cheap room that 
was still her own. 

In this ointment of society there was, of course, 
the usual fly. Julia learned what the prison taint 
means to a girl working in a self-righteous commu- 
nity, and she was soon planning the only means of 
escape that appeared open to her. She hoarded 
her pennies desperately, and at last she had enough 
for a steerage passage to America, land of hope, 
where she dreamed of better wages among people 
ignorant of her past. 

At this point she brought her story swiftly up to 
date. That morning when Peters had come into the 
kitchen with his news of a burglary her first, and 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


paralyzing, thought had been that the police would 
discover her record and immediately fasten the 
blame on her. That was why she had fainted. . . . 

Later, while lying in mute agony on her bed, it 
had occurred to her that she must, above all things, 
destroy some letters that she had kept since Molly 
had written them to her in prison. These, and the 
testimonial of the prisoner’s aid society, which well- 
meant document by itself would damn her in the 
eyes of anyone who read it — ! She rose from her 
bed, dumped the papers into the wash-bowl and 
touched a match to the lot. 

“ That’s the whole of it,” she ended passionately, 
“ and so help me Heaven, I never knew the ruby 
was in the house, much less took it! ” 

“ I believe you, Julia.” 

The words came out impulsively, and Peters was 
more than half-startled as he realized to what he 
was committing himself. It was his turn to stare 
out of the window, and he did it at some length 
while he mused over the story he had just heard. 
The girl had been very convincing, but . . . “ Po- 
lice persecution ” and “ every man’s against me ” 
was old stuff — terribly old. Sentiment aside, a 
[ 168 ] 


Julia Shaughnessy 


theft had been committed in this house and here was 
a girl under the same roof, who, whatever tempta- 
tion might have excused her, had already served 
one term for theft. That was the most obvious side 
of the shield, and on the other was — what? 

Something brushed warmly against his ankle, and 
looking down he found the answer to his question. 
A sickly little kitten! Not a weighty piece of evi- 
dence in a court of law, but what sane man could 
want more? The butler, his doubts resolved, 
smiled whimsically at the hills, and the hills seemed 
to smile back at him. He stooped and obligingly 
scratched the kitten behind its ear, then he 
straightened and turned to Julia. 

“ Well,” she demanded, “ what are you going to 
do? ” 

“ Come along and watch me, if you want,” he 
replied cheerfully. 

He crossed the room, and she started to her feet 
in alarm as he picked up the washbowl full of 
charred papers. 

“ Don’t worry,” he said reassuringly. “ You see, 
there will be a detective here pretty soon, if I’m not 
mistaken, and I think it will be just as well if we 
[ 169 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


take these things out in the garden and really burn 
them before he learns things — that he need never 
know! ” 

He half expected her to show some sign of grat- 
itude and relief; he would not have been surprised 
if she had expressed her thanks in a few well-chosen 
words. But he was not at all prepared to see Julia 
fling herself prone upon her bed and burst into wild 
sobs. . . . 

He made but an awkward figure as he stood 
there watching her heaving shoulders, a washbowl 
clutched to his breast and a puzzled expression on 
his face that might have been freely translated, 
“ You never know what they’ll do next! ” 


[ 170 ] 


Chapter Twelve 


STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL 

T HE boldest course is nearly always the best; 

when Julia tried to burn her papers in secret 
behind a locked door she promptly attracted the at- 
tention of the butler. Peters made no such mis- 
take; he marched brazenly out of the house with 
the washbowl held before him, and as the cook 
happened to be in the cellar as he passed through 
the kitchen, and Pietro, the gardener, had gone 
home to lunch, he felt sure that he had come thus 
far unobserved. He burned every scrap of the in- 
criminating documents behind the garage, threw 
the ashes to the winds, and restored the basin to 
Julia's room with the same comfortable feeling of 
security. 

Joan had brought back the medicine for Cicely 
and had then driven off again; she presently tele- 
phoned that she was staying to lunch at a friend's 
house, and as Cicely was kept in bed as a precaution, 
[ 171 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


Mrs. Bronson lunched alone in the big dining-room. 
Peters, silently attentive at the other end of the 
room, scrutinized her face from time to time and 
found in it further food for suspicion; she natu- 
rally did not trouble to wear a mask in the presence 
of her butler, and he thought he had never before 
seen her so obviously anxious and troubled, so 
plainly worried. He couldn’t just see why she 
should look so woe-begone if she had managed to 
steal a ruby, unless she was tortured with remorse, 
or unless it had finally occurred to her that even a 
woman of her position could not dispose of such a 
gem without leaving a broad trail for some keen 
detective to nose out. 

Peters ran over the points he had against her. 
She had had a powerful motive to take the ruby, 
she had had the opportunity — in fact, she was the 
first person to enter the library after Jerry left it, 
and it might therefore be said that she had had a 
better opportunity than anyone else in the house 
to take advantage of her husband’s carelessness. 
Had she noticed the ruby lying on the desk and 
yielded to an irresistible temptation? He could 
imagine her condoning her action with the reflection 
[ 172 ] 


Strictly Confidential 


that the jewel was shortly to be hers anyway and 
that she was consequently merely robbing herself. 
In the moment that elapsed between her hanging 
up the receiver and her appearance in the hall, she 
had had time to remember that even the discovery 
of her theft would only result in a painful scene 
with her husband, who could be counted upon to 
shield her from open disgrace and punishment. She 
might have gone on to think, supposing her to be 
sufficiently callous, that suspicion would be directed 
instantly to Sidney — which was exactly what had 
happened, at least on Jerry’s part. 

And when she did appear — ! Peters, in his 
mind, saw her again as he had seen her on the pre- 
vious evening; he remembered her agitation, that he 
had ascribed to maternal anxiety, her leaning 
against the wall as if for support, and, above all, 
he remembered the clenched hand that hung by her 
side, half-concealed in a fold of her dress. 

“ Some more butter, please.” 

Found derelict in his duty, he sprang to obey, 
not displeased that his attention had been distracted 
once again from the subject of his suspicions. He 
mutely cursed the luck that seemed to be making 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


him the treasury of so many secrets, and while he 
had disposed of Julia’s case with ready decision, it 
was a different matter to render the same service 
to Mrs. Bronson; besides, there was no sick kitten 
to plead for her! On the other hand, the idea of 
going to kindly Jerry with such a tale about his wife 
was literally abhorrent to the butler’s nature. 

The telephone summoned him to the library; it 
was Bronson with his tale of having engaged a de- 
tective, and in another minute Peters came back to 
notify Mrs. Bronson that she was wanted at the re- 
ceiver. She had finished her lunch and returned to 
the dining-room only for a word with the butler, who 
did not fail to note that she seemed more upset than 
ever. 

“ Mr. Bronson told you that a detective will be 
here shortly? ” 

“ Yes, ma’am.” 

“ I shall be in my room all the afternoon, and I 
want you to let me know the minute he comes.” 

“ Very good, ma’am.” 

It was barely two hours later when a ring at the 
front door announced the arrival of Traynor. The 
butler answered it with his accustomed swiftness, 
[ 174 ] 


Strictly Confidential 


and, for just an instant, the two men exchanged ap- 
praising glances. 

“ You’re Peters, I suppose? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ I’m Mr. Traynor. Did Mr. Bronson ’phone I 
was coming? ” 

“ Yes, sir, and Mrs. Bronson has been waiting to 
see you.” 

“ Then please tell her I’m here.” The detective 
strolled into the house and looked about him with 
interest. “ You may as well show me into the 
library — that’s where the jewel was taken? — and 
I’ll have a look around while I’m waiting.” 

Peters obeyed him cheerfully, rather pleased 
with his first impression of this clever-looking young 
man. He showed him into the library, called his at- 
tention to the empty jewel-case that still stood on 
Jerry’s desk, and departed to summon Mrs. Bronson. 

Left to himself, Traynor went to work with all 
the promptness and some of the methods of the 
most approved fiction detective. He looked all 
around the room in which he stood, noting the char- 
acter and position of every piece of furniture it 
contained, and then walked to the desk. His head 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


was bent over the jeweler’s case, which he was ex- 
amining through a pocket magnifying glass, when 
Peters stepped in to say that Mrs. Bronson would 
join him in a minute. 

“All right, Peters.” 

The butler turned as if to leave the room, but, be- 
fore doing so, he was guilty of an instant’s hesita- 
tion that spoke volumes to the detective’s trained 
intelligence. 

“ One moment, Peters. You look to me like a 
man who has something on his mind. Have you 
anything to tell me about this case? ” 

His shrewd guess was quickly rewarded. The 
doubts and qualms that had been assailing the but- 
ler since that morning were crystallized by Tray- 
nor’s question into a sudden determination. Peters 
decided to trust his suspicions to this kindly-eyed, 
pleasant-voiced young sleuth, thereby shifting a 
certain problem from his own wits to another’s. 

“ There is something, Mr. Traynor, but before I 
tell you what it is I would like to ask you a question. 
There is someone in this house who had a good 
reason for stealing that ruby; if I tell you the de- 
tails, sir, will you be obliged to repeat them at once 
[ 176 ] 


Strictly Confidential 


to Mr. Bronson — or would you consider the in- 
formation as confidential until you had satisfied 
yourself as to its importance? ” 

Traynor smiled encouragingly. 

“ I can assure you, Peters, that every detective 
receives communications of just that sort, and — 
if you don’t mind my saying so — they are apt to 
turn out valueless. Yours may be an exception, so 
if you wish to tell me I will be glad to be saved the 
trouble of finding it out for myself, and if it turns 
out to have no actual bearing on the case you can 
depend upon me to keep your secret.” 

“ I’ll take your word for it, sir.” The butler 
stepped swiftly to the door and made sure there was 
no possibility of their being overheard ; he returned 
to the detective’s side. “ It’s about Mrs. Bron- 
son — ” 

In a few terse sentences he described the bridge 
debt; the woman’s lack of money; her husband’s 
antipathy to gambling; her errand to the library the 
previous evening; and her curious behavior when 
she left the room. 

“ And you don’t want to tell these things to your 
employer for fear of giving him unnecessary pain? ” 
[ 177 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


The detective looked at his informant thoughtfully. 
“ The sentiment does you great credit, Peters! 
What you have told me is extremely interesting, but 
you have no fear of my disturbing Mr. Bronson 
unless I become quite certain that she is the guilty 
person.” He added smiling, “ I am never unnec- 
essarily brutal! ” 

“ Then I'm very glad I have told you,” said the 
butler, and left the room just a few seconds before 
Mrs. Bronson appeared. 

She had dressed herself with exquisite care for 
this interview, which she felt might prove vitally 
important to her; she made a delightful picture as 
she glided gracefully into the room and approached 
her visitor with outstretched hand and charming 
smile. 

“Mr. Traynor? I am so glad you have come! 
We are all waiting confidently for you to get us out 
of this tiresome mess.” 

“ I hope I shall justify your expectations,” he 
answered with a smile quite as charming as her own. 
“ In fact I may tell you at once that I have every 
hope of recovering the ruby.” 

“ And of — of exposing the thief? ” 

[ 178 ] 


Strictly Confidential 


“Ah — that is sometimes another matter,” he 
said significantly. 

“ You mean—?” 

“ I mean,” he continued in a more natural tone, 
“ that I am a private detective and not a police 
official. I have solved many cases of theft in which 
the identity of the thief remained a secret — a 
family secret, I might say ! ” 

“ Oh ! ” She appeared to ponder his words, but in 
reality she was nerving herself to take the plunge 
into the doubtful waters of confession. “ Er — 
Mr. Traynor! ” 

“ Yes, Mrs. Bronson? ” 

“ I suppose in cases like this you try to find some 
person with — with a motive for the theft? ” 

“ Cases like this? ” He raised his eyebrows. 

“Why, I gathered from what my husband told 
me this morning that it looks like what you call — 
an inside job.” 

“ I haven’t called it that,” he reminded her smil- 
ingly. “ But if it is, then your premise is sound ; to 
put it roughly, one might say that motive would 
count for fifty per cent and opportunity for the 
other fifty.” 


[ 179 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


She had seated herself in one of the big leather 
chairs, while he had preferred to remain standing 
before her. She leaned forward now, her folded 
hands clutching her knee, and raised anxious eyes 
to his. 

“ Mr. Traynor, I had both motive and opportu- 
nity/’ she said in a low voice. “ I pay you the com- 
pliment of supposing that you would learn this by 
your own methods, so I would rather tell you the 
truth than — ” 

“My dear Mrs. Bronson! ” He checked her with 
a courteous gesture. “ I don’t believe for an instant 
that you would let your bridge debts drive you to 
such a desperate expedient for obtaining money.” 

“Mr. Traynor! ” She sprang to her feet, pale 
and frightened. “ What do you mean? ” 

“Don’t you owe some people named Latham 
about two thousand dollars? ” 

“Ye-es — I do!” she admitted. “But how in 
the world have you come to hear of it? Don’t — 
don’t tell me that my husband — oh, surely he 
doesn’t know! ” 

“ He is quite in the dark about it.” 

“ Thank Heaven ! ” She drew a quick breath of 

[ 180 ] 


Strictly Confidential 


relief, but her slender body was still shaking in 
every limb as she sank back again into the chair. 
“ But how in the world did you learn — ? ” 

“You must forgive me if I don’t tell you that 
just now. A detective would soon lose his subtle 
fascination if he were to turn his bag of tricks in- 
side out upon request! ” His cheerful voice and 
light words had the reassuring effect he intended. 
“ Don’t worry, Mrs. Bronson ; I can see that the 
idea of taking me into your confidence has been 
causing you anxiety, but that bridge is crossed and 
no great harm done after all! I certainly won’t 
tell your husband about those ten cent points, 
and I’m quite sure you didn’t take the ruby.” 

He talked a moment or two longer, putting her 
more at ease, and then asked carelessly, “ By the 
way, have you any idea yourself as tq who may 
have taken the stone — providing that it is an 
inside job? ” 

Her answer was a moment in coming. 

“Well — one doesn’t like to mention names for 
fear of doing an injustice, Mr. Traynor. Peters 
seems to be an honest, steady man, but don’t you 
think it rather odd that he should bring a valuable 
[ 181 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


ruby here without the knowledge of Mr. McKit- 
trick, and that it should immediately disappear? ” 

“ Peters has naturally occurred to me ; but don’t 
you see there are several implausibilities about that 
theory? ” 

“ N-no.” She looked a little crestfallen, as an 
amateur detective must when confronted with the 
incredulity of a professional. “ I can’t say I do ; 
what are they? ” 

“ In the first place, the whole mechanism of the 
theft would have been a great deal too elaborate, 
and a man capable of conceiving such a scheme 
would have brains enough to know that his actions 
would not be above suspicion — I daresay Peters 
is feeling rather uncomfortable right now as he con- 
siders the interpretation we may put on his bring- 
ing the ruby here under such curious circumstances! 
But if he had wanted to rob McKittrick, he could 
have done so quite as effectively in the vacant 
apartment and then taken his time in arranging the 
apparent traces of a burglarious entry ; he need not 
have gone to the trouble of staging the theft here. 

“ Supposing that he did, he could not have 
counted on your husband taking possession of the 
[ 182 ] 


Strictly Confidential 


ruby — which was Mr. Bronson’s own suggestion — 
much less have counted on his forgetting to put it 
in the safe and leaving it on his desk, for the con- 
venience of the first crook who came along. If on 
the other hand he was prepared to crack the strong- 
box in order to secure it, he would have tackled the 
safe last night and possessed himself of your hus- 
band’s rubies, rather than stopped short with a 
lucky find. 

“ Supposing, once again, that he did, it must 
have been sheer idiocy or sheer bravado that 
prompted him this morning to find every door and 
window as he left it, when he might have forced a 
catch and turned our attention outside the house — 
instead of in. No, Mrs. Bronson, I don’t think we 
are justified in suspecting Peters in the face of all 
these facts.” 

“ I suppose you’re right,” she commented re- 
luctantly. 

“ You may be sure I am,” he asserted, and added 
briskly, “ Now may I have your permission to com- 
mence the more mechanical part of my investiga- 
tions? As for yourself, you are naturally nervous 
over this whole business, and if I were a doctor I 
[ 183 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


would prescribe a sedative, — and a nap ; I shall be 
here some time, and if I have to ask you anything 
I can do it later.” 

“ Thank you, Mr. Traynor, you are really very 
thoughtful.” She managed a rather quivery smile 
as she stood up. “ Of course my husband’s orders 
are that you shall have a free hand.” 

“ You may trust me to use my powers with dis- 
cretion,” was his last reassuring speech as he bowed 
her from the room. 

He stood looking after her for a moment or two, 
a curious little smile on his lips but none at all 
in his eyes. Then he touched the bell for the butler. 
“ Peters, I’d like to have a look over the house — 
particularly the servants’ quarters.” 

“ I thought you would, sir. I can say for the cook 
and housemaid, as well as for myself, that we are 
all willing and anxious for you to make a thorough 
search of all our belongings.” 

“Good! It is always a tremendous help when 
people realize the necessity of these things and ac- 
cept them philosophically. Many things have to 
be done at a time like this that cause inconvenience. 
Please tell your companions that I’m sorry to dis- 
[ 184 ] 


Strictly Confidential 


turb their possessions, but that I’ll be as quick and 
neat about it as possible.” 

“ Nothing could be fairer than that, sir.” 

“ Before we start, Peters, I want to ask a ques- 
tion or two about the family. Miss Ayres, for in- 
stance — she’s Mrs. Bronson’s cousin? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ What relation does that make her to young 
Durant? ” 

“ None at all, sir. He is Mr. Bronson’s nephew.” 

“ Ah ! ” The detective seemed vaguely disap- 
pointed, but aroused himself to answer the sur- 
prise that had been apparent in the butler’s voice. 
“ It’s nothing important, but it’s always just as 
' well to find out the exact relationships existing be- 
tween the characters who have a part in these little 
dramas.” 

“ I see, sir.” 

“ Are these young people on good terms with each 
other? ” 

“ I should say so, sir.” 

“ For that matter, are you aware of any friction 
between any of the members of the family — any 
misunderstanding, or lack of harmony? ” 

[ 185 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ None at all, sir. It seems to be a most united 
household! ” 

The butler answered warmly, but Traynor merely 
smiled and made no comment. 

“ Come along, Peters, and let’s get this over 
with.” He followed as the butler led the way. 

Jerry Bronson, detained by his real estate deal, 
was much later than usual in reaching home. Din- 
ner had been waiting some fifteen minutes before 
the alert butler flung open the front door at the 
sound of his approaching footsteps. 

“ Good-evening, sir.” 

“ Good-evening, Peters.” Jerry looked tired and 
worn. “ I suppose there’s no sign of that con- 
founded ruby? ” 

“ Not yet, sir.” 

“ Traynor been here? ” 

“He’s here yet, sir — in the library with Mrs. 
Bronson. He is remaining to dinner, sir.” 

“ Good. He had a look around, no doubt? ” 

“He went over the whole house pretty thor- 
oughly, sir.” 

“ H’m. Find anything? ” 

“Nothing important, sir.” A slight smile re- 

[ 186 ] 


Strictly Confidential 


laxed the butler’s face. “ He found a policeman’s 
whistle, sir, which I understand you hid the day 
after Miss Cicely brought it home from a party.” 

“ A policeman’s whistle! ” snorted Jerry. “ That’s 
the sort of thing that would turn up just after a 
burglary! Does she know it’s found? ” 

“ No, sir.” 

“ Well, that’s something. Better hide it again, 
if you value your ear-drums. Hello — what’s 
this? ” 

This was a boy on a bicycle who had ridden up as 
they stood talking on the veranda. He had a 
yellow envelope in his hand, and the broker 
snatched the message eagerly. “ For you, Peters,” 
he said glancing at the inscription, and the butler 
opened the telegram while Jerry signed the boy’s 
book. 

“ Is it from McKittrick? Pretty quick work! 
What does he say? ” 

“ I’d prefer you to read it for yourself, sir! ” an- 
swered the butler, and remained standing rather 
stiffly at attention while Bronson glanced over the 
message. 

“ Certainly employ a private detective. Have no 
[ 187 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


wish to publish fact I was ass enough to leave 
my jewelry where a bigger ass could reach it.” 

Jerry read it twice, and then placed it slowly in 
his pocket. 

“ Gad ! ” he muttered feelingly. “ Do you sup- 
pose he means you or me, Peters? ” 

“ He’s just the sort of man, sir, to suggest we toss 
for it! ” replied the butler drily. 


[ 188 ] 


Chapter Thirteen 

PETERS GETS A SHOCK 

J OAN had apparently deserted her home. Fol- 
lowing her absence from lunch, she had tele- 
phoned again to say that she would not be back for 
dinner; Jerry regretted this fact at intervals through 
the meal, for Traynor, as might have been expected, 
proved himself a most entertaining conversational- 
ist. He answered an early remark of Mrs. Bron- 
son's with a declaration that he would discuss any 
case except this, which he said was already preying 
on their minds, and he proved as good as his word. 
From soup to coffee he interrupted his steady flow of 
anecdote only to pay due justice to Mrs. O'Malley’s 
art. 

Jerry led him into the library after dinner and 
supplied him with an excellent cigar; drink he re- 
fused, insisting that he reserved that dissipation 
until the conclusion of his cases. 

[ 189 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ I’d like to know if you’ve formed any opinion, 
Mr. Traynor.” 

“ I can hardly — ” began the detective, when 
Jerry bethought him of something else, and raised 
his hand. 

“ Excuse me, Mr. Traynor! Can you think of 
any reason why Peters should not join us here? He 
is no less interested than I in the recovery of the 
ruby, and he’s a bright fellow who may think of 
something useful himself.” 

“ Have him in by all means. Three heads are 
better than two.” 

“ First, I’ll show you this.” Jerry drew McKit- 
trick’s telegram from his pocket and handed it to 
Traynor. “ Read it! ” 

The detective did so, and gave it back with a 
laugh. 

“ Rough on Peters, but no more than he de- 
served! However, I am glad that you’ve been 
authorized to employ me, for I need hardly assure 
you that I prefer to work on a case of this kind 
without any interference from the police.” He 
added quickly. “ Not that there is a finer body of 
men in the world than our police, but even their 
[ 190 ] 


Peters Gets a Shock 


best friends will admit that they are better at mak- 
ing arrests than in detective work.” 

The butler was summoned and showed obvious 
pleasure at learning that he was to be kept in 
touch with developments. He demurred a little 
at the idea of sitting down, but he eventually 
yielded to Jerry’s insistence, and presently seemed 
as much at ease as either of his companions. 

“ Now, Mr. Traynor,” said Jerry, just as the de- 
tective had encouraged him earlier in the day. 

A shadow of impatience crossed the detective’s 
face but it was instantly replaced by his usual good- 
humored expression. 

“ I’m afraid, sir, that you expect me to reveal to 
you at once the present location of the ruby, the 
identity of the thief, and the motive that impelled 
him to theft.” 

“ Oh, not quite as much as that! ” replied the 
broker, returning Traynor’s smile. “ But we ” — he 
graciously included Peters — “ are very anxious to 
know what progress you have made.” 

“ Well, I have accumulated a mass of information 
the importance of which I cannot determine until 
I’ve had an opportunity to think it over. 

[ 191 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ I can tell you this much, that I found nothing 
either useful or suspicious in my search of the house. 
A few suggestive things, perhaps ... I won’t dis- 
cuss them now, and shall reserve my investigation 
of them until other clues fail.” 

“ I think I should tell you that I believe the ser- 
vants to be innocent of any connection with the 
disappearance of the ruby. Mrs. O’Malley is trans- 
parently honest, that is certain. Julia Shaughnessy 
is less open but — let me see, how long has she been 
with you? ” 

“ About three years.” 

“ Just so, and Mrs. Bronson tells me that her 
references were good Apart from that, I gather 
from Mrs O’Malley, and from Peters here, that the 
girl is of a retiring, self-centered nature, that she 
shows no desire to make friendships outside the 
house, and that instead of going out on her days 
off, she frequently spends the time in her own room 
writing to a younger sister in England These things 
would seem to dispose of the chance that she may 
have met some crook outside and become his tool; 
as for the possibility of her having taken it for 
herself, she does not impress me as being the sort 
[ 192 ] 


Peters Gets a Shock 


of a girl to take an interest in a ruby, even if she 
knew how to go about disposing of one. Yes,” 
mused Traynor, “ I think we can give Julia a clean 
bill of health. As for our friend Peters, I expect 
we shall have to assume his innocence until we can 
prove him guilty.” 

“ Thank you, sir,” acknowledged Peters im- 
perturbably. 

Jerry Bronson, busy with his own gloomy 
thoughts, did not smile at this last exchange of 
pleasantries. 

“ Mr. Traynor, am I to understand from the way 
you speak that you believe the theft was committed 
by someone in this house? ” 

“ Mr. Bronson, I can only say that the evidence 
points that way up to the present. I realize what a 
shock this must be to you, and I hope as sincerely as 
you do that appearances are misleading and that we 
will yet find a professional crook at the end of our 
hunt.” 

A short silence followed upon his words, and 
Traynor and the butler looked away while Bron- 
son obviously tried to control his emotion. A quick 
tap on the door startled them, but it proved a wel- 
[ 193 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


come diversion. Peters opened it, and stood aside 
to permit Joan to enter. 

“ Can I come in, Cousin Jerry V’ 

“ Of course, if you like. We were just talking 
over this wretched affair. ... Joan, this is Mr. 
Traynor.” 

She bowed slightly. 

“ It is Mr. Traynor whom I really wish to see,” 
she said. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes dan- 
gerously bright, and it was plain to all of them that 
her nerves were strung to the highest pitch. 
“ Cousin Jerry, would you mind very much if I 
ask to speak to Mr Traynor — alone? ” 

“ Just as you wish, my dear,” answered the ever 
courteous Jerry, but he was evidently surprised and 
a trifle hurt. “ Do you want to talk to him right 
away? ” 

“ If you’ll let me. I want to get it over and be 
off to bed.” She took a cigarette from the box on 
Jerry’s desk, lit it, and puffed at it nervously for a 
moment. “ I’ve had the hell of a day! ” she burst 
out suddenly, irritably. 

The explosion of a firecracker in his cigar would 
not have caused Jerry Bronson to jump in his skin 
[ 194 ] 


Peters Gets a Shock 


as did this unexpected adjective from a charming 
young lady, and even Traynor’s eyebrows went up 
in mild surprise. It was a gurgling gasp from 
Peters, choking back a chuckle, that eased the situ- 
ation; the others turned to him with one accord, 
and his purpling face and painful self-conscious- 
ness were too much for them. They exploded in 
a gale of laughter that left them breathless, while 
Peters, giving up the unequal struggle, fled the room 
in dismay. 

That laugh did them all a world of good, coming 
as it did to relieve their pent-up feelings. 

“I don’t care! ” cried Joan defiantly, when she 
could speak “ I only told the truth in good old 
Anglo-Saxon.” 

She was more like her usual self by the time 
Jerry had left her alone with the detective, who 
proceeded tactfully to give her every chance to 
calm down. He drew up a comfortable chair, placed 
cushions behind her, set an ash-tray close to her 
hand, routed out a foot-stool from a distant cor- 
ner, and then decided that she had had plenty of 
time to regain her self-control. He took up the 
same position in which he had listened to Mrs. Bron- 
[ 195 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


son that afternoon, standing before her with his 
hands thrust deeply in his pockets and his eyes 
searching her face not unkindly. 

“ Why was it the hell of a day? ” he asked 
lightly. 

“ Because I've been making up my mind to do 
something hateful.” 

“ It’s not difficult under the circumstances to 
guess what it is,” he helped out, as she paused. 
“ You know something about this business and you 
don't like to reveal it for fear of hurting someone 
dear to you, but you have finally determined to do 
the sensible thing — which means your plain duty 
— and confide in me. Am I right? ” 

She nodded soberly, and her opinion of the young 
man’s cleverness was increased by that terse and 
accurate summing up of her long day’s struggle. 

“ I never could have found the courage to — to 
tell Cousin Jerry, but Mrs. Bronson has just been 
telling me about her talk with you this afternoon, 
and that put the idea of coming to you in — in 
confidence.” 

“ Quite so, and I promise not to breathe a word 
of it unless it has some bearing on the case ; in that 
[ 196 ] 


Peters Gets a Shock 


event, Miss Ayres, things must take their regular 
course and you will have to console yourself with 
the reflection that you are not the first person by a 
long shot who has found herself in just this dis- 
agreeable situation.” 

“ That’s a thin consolation,” said the girl, and 
made a face. “ But Cousin Mary has practically 
forced my hand by coming to you with the story 
of her silly bridge debts. You might never have 
learned about them otherwise, but now you’ll never 
be able to forget that she had a motive for stealing 
a valuable ruby, and before you start to suspect 
her — ” he raised a protesting hand — “ Oh, you 
might, you know! Anyway, I’ve no right to let 
you do that as long as I know something about 
somebody else.” 

“ Two to one it’s Sidney,” offered Mr. Traynor 
cheerfully, hoping to ease the strain that was again 
becoming apparent in her eyes. 

“ Yes, it is! ” she admitted desperately. 

Without further circumlocution, she nerved her- 
self to give a clear direct account of her brief inter- 
view with Sidney, in that very room, when he had 
threatened his uncle’s safe with a can-opener. 
[ 197 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ I told him it was a silly, stupid thing to say! ” 
she ended angrily. 

“ No doubt he agreed with you there? ” 

“ N-no,” she answered, a catch in her voice. “ He 

— he only said he knew I’d never give him away! 
Oh ! ” she cried passionately. “ I feel a perfect 
Judas! ” 

“ You needn’t,” he told her shortly. He moved 
away from her and fell to pacing the floor, his shrewd 
face very thoughtful, but her impatience could not 
wait upon his mood. 

“ Do — do you think things look very bad for 
him? ” 

“ They unquestionably do,” he returned. “ But 
remember this, Miss Ayres; the blacker the case 
grows against him, the more difficult it is to under- 
stand how a man of Sidney’s intelligence could in- 
vite destruction by committing such a stupid theft 

— of which he must have realized that he, above 
all others, was most likely to be suspected. Do you 
see my point? ” 

“ Of course ! ” She brightened perceptibly. 

“ When Durant talked to you, did he give you any 
idea of the kind of a scrape he was in? ” 

[ 198 ] 


Peters Gets a Shock 


“ No, except that he needed twenty-five hundred 
dollars to get himself out of it.” 

“ Ah. Well, it would not be becoming in me to 
tell you his secrets, but I will say this much: his 
need for the money is extremely pressing — and a 
ruby is not an easy thing to convert into cash in a 
hurry without leaving a trail that a — a policeman 
could follow! He must have known that, so there 
is another point for us to consider before we fix the 
guilt on him.” 

Joan was a little bewildered by the new com- 
plexion that Traynor was industriously painting 
upon the face of things. “ But these facts would 
appear to exonerate him completely unless he was 
an absolute fool — which Sidney decidedly is not! ” 

“ That is so,” agreed the detective. He refrained 
from reminding her of Sidney’s midnight departure 
for New York, a curious, if not suspicious incident; 
he did not point out to her, as he might have, that 
among the fast company the boy was known to 
keep in New York he might possibly have learned 
of — or even met — some fence who would pay him 
a bargain price for the ruby and keep it until danger 
was well passed. Traynor, as he had assured the 
[ 199 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


butler, was not brutal unless he had to be, and he 
saw no reason for arousing in Joan’s mind any 
further doubt of Sidney. “ Anything else, Miss 
Ayres? ” 

“ Y-yes. There is one thing more I must tell you. 
You know, little Cicely was ill that night and I sat 
up with her until early morning. At about one 
o’clock I heard a noise down here, and I stole half 
way down the stairs to see what it was. I leaned 
over the banisters — ” 

“ And saw Peters ! ” interrupted the detective. 

“Why — ! How did you guess that?” 

“ Didn’t guess it. We were talking this afternoon 
about the people who might have entered the library 
last night, and he told me of his excursion there.” 

“Thank goodness!” said Joan. “That’s one 
person I haven’t hurt by my tale-bearing! ” 

“ He explained that he had been unable to sleep 
and had gone to get a book your cousin had given 
him permission to borrow.” 

Joan jumped at the chance to appease her 
curiosity. 

“ I saw he had a book in his hand — what was it, 
Mr. Traynor? ” 


[ 200 ] 


Peters Gets a Shock 


“ Sartor Resartus.” 

“ Sar — ! ” In her surprise Joan collapsed against 
the cushion behind her. Then she caught the de- 
tective’s amused eye, and they both laughed. “ I 
have thought once or twice that he was trying to 
improve his mind/’ she confessed, “but I didn’t 
suppose he’d go that far! ” 

“ Peters,” mused Traynor, “ has a personality that 
I find intriguing.” 

His tone drew a quick glance from Joan. “ You 
— you don’t think — ? ” 

" No, no! My interest in Peters is personal, not 
professional. And now, Miss Ayres, any more 
confidences? ” 

“ No, that’s all.” 

“ Then let me remind you that you are anxious 
to get to bed after the — er — hell of a day! ” He 
walked to the door and opened it as she rose and 
crossed the room. “ Don’t stay awake a single 
minute worrying about what you have told me. 
You did exactly right, and you have perhaps helped 
Durant rather than hurt him. There is a comfort- 
ing idea for you to fall asleep on! ” 

The girl held out her hand impulsively. 

[ 201 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ You are very kind, Mr. Traynor,” she said 
quickly. “ Good-night ! ” 

“ Good-night, Miss Ayres.’’ He released her hand 
and watched her graceful figure disappearing down 
the hall, and on his face was the same mirthless 
smile with which he had similarly honored Mrs. 
Bronson’s retreating form. It faded from his lips 
as Jerry, aware from the opening of the door that 
the conference was ended, came in from the veranda 
where he had spent half an hour in miserable 
solitude. 

“ Ah, Mr. Bronson ! ” A glance at the broker’s 
face was enough to give the detective a clue to his 
thoughts. “ Let me hasten to tell you that Miss 
Ayres had very little of importance to tell me. She 
is much happier now that she has got it off her 
mind — and of course you have guessed that her 
only reason for wishing to see me alone was to spare 
you pain.” 

“ Bless her! That is just like her! ” 

“ So I should imagine,” agreed the other cordially. 
“An honest, straightforward, kind-hearted girl.” 
The broker’s gloom lightened at this praise of Joan. 
“ Now, sir, if you’ll excuse me, I must be getting 
[ 202 ] 


Peters Gets a Shock 


back to town. If you will be in your office to- 
morrow afternoon about four I will call on you 
there; undoubtedly I shall have news for you.” 

“ I’ll be there ! ” declared Jerry promptly. 

He did not accompany the detective to the front 
door, and so it happened that Traynor found himself 
alone in the front hall with the attentive butler, 
who had turned up with hat and stick for the parting 
guest. 

“ Excuse me, sir,” he said in a low voice. “ There 
is something I should like to ask you.” 

“ Go ahead, Peters.” 

“ Once or twice since this afternoon it has struck 
me that Mrs. Bronson was looking at me a little 
queerly; you didn’t let her guess that I mentioned 
her bridge debts to you? ” 

“ Of course not ! ” cried the detective. “ By the 
way, Peters, I may as well tell you that she con- 
fessed them to me herself, and — ” He broke off 
and whistled softly. “ By Jove! Now that I think 
of it, I did cut her story short by telling her that I 
already knew the facts! But I naturally refused 
to say where I got them.” 

Peters felt the dawning of an uncomfortable sus- 
[ 203 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


picion; he guessed that this young man had come 
very close indeed to betraying a confidence in order 
to impress Mrs. Bronson with his omniscience, and 
the butler's tone was slightly lacking in deference 
when he spoke again. 

“ I expect I've only been imagining things, sir ; 
I daresay she will think you found it out for your- 
self. Lots of people believe that a detective must 
know everything." 

Traynor flushed. 

“ And lots of other people, my friend, are some- 
times surprised to find out how many things he 
does know." 

“ No doubt, sir." 

“ Would you like a sample of my wares, Peters? " 
The detective had recovered the better part of his 
equanimity, but there was still a bite in his words. 
“ I believe I can surprise you by something I know." 

“ Possibly, sir." 

“ I believe it will surprise you," went on the other 
deliberately, “when you hear that I know you 
burned a quantity of papers belonging to Julia 
Shaughnessy behind the garage this morning." 

Peters, prepared for almost anything else, was 
[ 204 ] 


Peters Gets a Shock 


fairly staggered by the unexpectedness of Traynor’s 
challenge; he recovered slowly, to find the detective 
eyeing him sardonically. “ How the deuce — ?” 
He paused, pulled himself together, and met Tray- 
nor’s level gaze with as straight a one of his own. 
“ Why, yes, sir, I did just that thing! ” 

“ Perhaps you will be so good as to tell me to 
what those papers referred? ” 

“ No, sir, I shan’t do that.” 

“Ah! I didn’t think you would,” admitted 
Traynor. He tapped his trousers lightly with his 
cane. “ It’s not important, for I expect I shall soon 
find out for myself.” 

He turned and left the house without another 
word, and Peters, regrettable to state, shut the 
heavy door upon his departing figure with a shade 
more of emphasis than a well-trained butler should 
allow himself. He pacified his conscience, however, 
with the reflection that it had been a long and trying 
day. . . . 


[ 205 ] 














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Chapter Fourteen 

INTRODUCING T. B. H. 

T HE morning mail brought news of the absent 
Sidney, which arrived in the form of a letter 
written by him on the stationery of his club and 
postmarked from the Grand Central Station just 
prior to the time his train had left for Mainesville. 
It was cheerful in tone, describing the significance 
of the Universal intrusting him with such an im- 
portant mission, apologizing for having failed to 
telephone the day before, and ending with the state- 
ment that he would probably be detained up-state 
at least ten days before his business was completed. 

Jerry’s heart sank a little at this last bit of news, 
but rose again on the recollection that Traynor had 
sent one of his discreet young men to “ cover ” 
Sidney; therefore it might not be necessary to wait 
ten whole days before getting some hint or sugges- 
tion that might cast light on whether or not the boy 
was concerned in the disappearance of the ruby. 
[ 207 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


Before he left the house for his usual train, Jerry 
had a word with the butler. 

“ How does Traynor impress you, Peters? ” 

" I think he’s a very clever young man,” answered 
Peters, a trifle grudgingly. 

Candor compelled him to say as much, for he had 
just spent a very bad night indeed in reluctant con- 
templation of that same cleverness. Traynor’s part- 
ing shot had well-nigh crippled the butler’s imagina- 
tion. How the deuce had he learned about those 
papers? 

Traynor had not been out of Peters’ sight for one 
moment during his visit to the house on the previous 
day, and at no time had he gone near the garage 
behind whose concealing walls the well-intentioned 
burnt offering had been made. Even if he had gone 
over the outer premises before coming to the front 
door, it was impossible that he could have identified 
a scattered handful of ashes as papers belonging to 
Julia — Peters had been painstaking in his effort 
to destroy every vestige of script. 

A comparison of the time the papers were burnt 
with the hour in which Jerry had had his first inter- 
view with the detective made it equally clear that 
[ 208 ] 


Introducing T. B. H. 


Traynor could have had no one watching the house 
while the butler was busy with the washbowl. His 
talk with Julia antedated the detective’s engagement 
by at least two hours. 

Peters finally arrived at what seemed the only 
possible explanation short of a miracle of mind- 
reading, which was that some chance-led individual 
— perhaps a tramp — had seen him talking to Julia 
at the window of her room, had watched him appear 
with a bowlful of papers that he burned, and had 
then encountered the detective before he reached 
the house; by some wild bit of good fortune Tray- 
nor might have gleaned from this individual the 
history of his observations. 

Such an accidental wind-fall could not really be 
credited to the detective’s mental ability, but Peters 
ruefully told himself that a man who had luck like 
that didn’t need brains. At all events, whether it 
were luck or skill, Traynor had proved himself a 
most uncomfortable companion for an honest butler 
with a guilty secret! 

“ It appears to me,” continued Bronson reflec- 
tively, “ that he is a fairly fast worker.” 

Peters thought that was not too flattering a com- 
[ 209 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


pliment under the circumstances, but he merely 
bowed a silent agreement. 

Jerry Bronson spent a cheerless morning at his 
office, and, at one moment, he was on the verge of 
making a costly mistake in regard to a big operation 
in which the firm was involved when he was caught 
and prevented by the watchful Bartlett. 

“ It is not to be wondered at that Sidney and the 
ruby are preying on your mind, Jerry,” said his part- 
ner with gentle severity, “ but if it's going to result 
in making you commit bloomers like this one, you’d 
better go home and let them prey there.” 

The unfortunate Bronson could only rub his head 
in shamed contrition. 

“ If you were a gambling man,” continued the un- 
appeased Pear — the mistake would have been a 
very costly one indeed — “ I would offer to bet you 
a plugged nickel that you shied the ruby at a cat.” 

“ Have a heart, Henry ! I never use anything 
smaller than a shoe.” 

The storm-clouds gradually lifted from Bartlett’s 
vast expanse of countenance. He felt a return of 
the old time confidence in his partner. “ Well, well, 
Jerry, there’s no harm done after all, so long as we 
[ 210 ] 


Introducing T. B. H. 


nailed it in time. By the way, I haven’t had a chance 
yet to ask you how your detective is getting on.” 

Jerry brightened as he settled himself for a long 
conversation on the only subject that could now 
engage his attention. He told his partner the full 
history of his retaining the detective and of the steps 
that Traynor was taking in pursuit of his investiga- 
tions. 

“ He sounds pretty good to me,” conceded Bartlett 
at the end. “ I say, Jerry, if he turns up this after- 
noon, do you mind my sitting in for awhile? ” 

“ Mind ! I had every intention of asking you, 
Henry.” 

It was exactly four o’clock when Traynor was 
announced by the tow-headed office boy — the red- 
headed one, having lasted just long enough to draw 
a week’s salary, had then vanished after the manner 
of his kind. Like Bob Acre’s “ Valor,” the office boy 
comes and goes. 

“ Show him in, and ask Mr. Bartlett to join us.” 

“ I have some news for you,” began the detective, 
after he had been introduced to the Pear. “ Not 
very much, but also not uninteresting. As you can 
guess, it concerns Master Sidney.” 

[ 211 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ News of him already! ” exclaimed Jerry. 

“ Surely — why not? My operative in Maines- 
ville reported to me on the long distance ’phone 
less than an hour ago.” Traynor brought out his 
note-book. “ Shall I let him speak for himself? ” 
“ Do ! ” begged the Pear. “ I love the part of a 
detective story where the operative’s report is given 
verbatim.” His chair groaned dismally as he leaned 
back to enjoy an agreeable quarter of an hour. 
Traynor was frankly amused at his enthusiasm. 
“ Sorry I didn’t know I was going to have such 
a critical audience, Mr. Bartlett; I could have 
touched it up in spots before bringing it. . . . 
However, here goes: Operative T. B. H. speaking: 

“ ‘ Wednesday, 5 p.m. Called up Albany Club 
and asked for S. D. As soon as he entered, I rang 
off, having ascertained his presence in club. Then 
took up position opposite club door and waited. 
S. D. appeared at six o’clock. Recognized him easily 
by description. Trailed him to the Churchill-Ritz, 
where he ordered expensive dinner — ’ ” 

“ That’s redundant,” interjected Bartlett with 
some feeling. “You can’t order any other kind at 
the Churchill-Ritz.” 


[ 212 ] 


Introducing T. B. H. 


“ ‘ Finished dinner at 7.30. S. D. took taxi to 
club, picked up suit-case, and drove to Grand Cen- 
tral. Posted letter there but too quickly for me to 
note address — ' ” 

“ It was to me/’ broke in Jerry. “ Here it is.” 

He handed it to the detective, who read it care- 
fully and returned it with a shrug of his shoulders. 
“ Nothing there,” he muttered, and continued the 
adventures of T. B. H. 

“ ‘ He boarded train for Mainesville; I followed, 
having previously bought ticket according to in- 
structions. Reached destination eleven-thirty. 
Only one hotel in village. Secured room adjoining 
S. D.’s. He retired. Did not expect to see him 
again until morning, but a bit of luck brought us 
together again that night. I accosted him, accord- 
ing to instructions, represent — ' ” 

“Hold on!” broke in the Pear energetically. 
“ T. B. H. is a trifle vague there, and I don't want 
to miss anything. What was the bit of luck? ” 

“I jumped on him for that omission myself,” 
said Traynor with a smile. “ He explained that 
he had not wished to incriminate himself on the 
'phone, but he managed to let me understand that 
[213] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


both he and S. D. had descended from their rooms 
to ask the Landlord if he had anything antedating 
the Eighteenth Amendment, and consequently met 
each other once more.” 

“ Of course,” murmured the Pear apologetically. 
“ Most natural thing in the world — I should have 
thought of that myself! Go on, Sherlock Holmes! 
I’m afraid I’m no detective! ” 

“ ‘ — accosted him according to instructions, rep- 
resenting myself as a traveling salesman in 
jewelry — ’ ” 

“ My golly ! ” Bronson’s anxiety did not prevent 
him from shooting a glance of admiration at Tray- 
nor. “ However did you think of that? ” 

“ Stop interrupting, Jerry — I hate serial stories.” 
“ ‘ — jewelry. He was stand-offish at first but 
gradually became less so — ’ ” 

“ After about the third,” whispered the Pear 
dreamily. 

“ ‘ Had no difficulty in steering our conversation 
to rubies, and hinted that my firm did not always 
acquire its best stones in the open market.’ ” 

“ T. B. H. is a very shrewd fellow,” said Traynor, 
interrupting himself at this point. “You might 
[ 214 ] 


Introducing T. B. H. 


think he was going ahead rather too fast just there, 
but I’ve no doubt he pretended to be under the in- 
fluence of liquor.” He turned back to his notebook. 

“ ‘ S. D. did not seem interested, so I left him to 
think over what I had said. Did not see him next 
morning to speak to. He was off on his insurance 
business. Sat next to him at lunch. A telegram 
was brought to him, which I managed to read over 
his shoulder. It was dated this morning, from Sta- 
tion F3 New York, and said “ Check deposited.” It 
was not signed. He seemed pleased. After lunch 
he wrote a long letter which he sealed and posted 
immediately so that I was unable to see the address. 
I made out a few letters of addressee’s name. They 
were, M-a-y . . . M-i-n-n . . . Followed him to 
insurance agency, then went to railroad station and 
telephoned office.’ ” 

“ Is that all? ” asked Bronson disappointedly. 

“ I think it’s a good deal, Jerry,” corrected his 
partner. “ I say, Traynor, if he didn’t see that en- 
velope, how did he get those letters? ” 

“ The blotter, of course,” explained the detective 
patiently. “ As it was presumably a hotel blotter 
I think he did well to find anything at all.” 

[ 215 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ May — Minn — ” repeated Bartlett. “ Well, I 
can detect that! Why do you suppose he's writing 
to her? ” 

“ I have a pretty good idea," responded Traynor 
slowly, “ but I don't think I'll advance it just yet." 
He ruffled the pages of his notebook, then slipped it 
in his pocket and turned to Bartlett with a smile. 
“ Over-indulgence in sweets is bad! I could read 
you the report of another operative but it will save 
time if I tell it to you in my own words." 

“ Where was he planted? " asked the Pear eagerly. 

“ At the Albany Club, trying to get a line on 
Sidney’s movements yesterday. Unfortunately he 
didn’t get much, though he was lucky enough to 
find a club waiter who wasn't averse to gossiping 
about the members. My man represented himself 
as a taxi-driver who had brought Mr. Durant to the 
Club a few nights before " — Traynor glanced apolo- 
getically at Jerry — “ somewhat the worse for wear. 
The waiter took the bait, and before he had finished 
talking my man had learned that Sidney had arrived 
at the club very early yesterday morning, had had 
breakfast and a nap, and had then vanished for the 
rest of the day. He came back just before five, 
[ 216 ] 


Introducing T. B. H. 


apparently more cheerful than he had been for 
weeks. The waiter had no notion of where he had 
been during the day. 

“ So that is the extent of the information I have 
gathered about Sidney and his recent movements.” 
He frowned. “ I'm not very well satisfied with this 
second man's report. He should have learned more 
in the twenty-four hours that he’s had.” 

“ Oh, I don't know,” said Bartlett. “ When you 
stop to think of all the things he might have done 
... He could have taken the subway to the Bronx, 
he might have taken the elevated to Coney Island, 
or the Tube to Hoboken. How can you trace a man 
under such conditions? ” 

“ It would be difficult,” admitted the detective, 
“ if I didn't have some idea of where to look for him. 
As it is, I expect to know shortly just what he did 
with himself from the time he left the Universal 
office in the morning until five o'clock, when he 
showed up at the club looking cheerful. I also 
expect to find out the cause of his happiness. 

That ended the interview, and Traynor took his 
leave. 

In spite of his hopeful predictions, two days 
[ 217 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


passed and the detective still had no clue to where 
Sidney had spent the afternoon in question, nor did 
the daily bulletins from T. B. H. contain anything 
very startling. Sidney was apparently very busy 
with his agency problem ; he appeared only casually 
interested in the evenings when the fake salesman 
turned the talk to jewelry. 

On the other hand, there was food for thought in 
the fact that he received a letter on the third morn- 
ing addressed in a bold, dashing hand. 

“ That’s Maybelle ! ” said the Pear with profound 
conviction. “ For boldness and dash you can’t beat 
her handwriting — or the girl either ! ” 

It was T. B. H.’s settled belief that Sidney carried 
the letter on his person, from which his expectant 
audience in New York gathered that Mr. Durant’s 
room at the Mainesville Arms had been subjected to 
a search of scientific thoroughness. 

By this time an air of solemn gloom had descended 
upon the house at Claredale. Mrs. Bronson twice 
gave way to hysterical tears, and the butler, learning 
of this, wondered whether it was the theft that up- 
set her or whether the disappearance of the ruby 
had provided her with an excellent excuse to relieve 
[ 218 ] 


Introducing T. B. H. 


her feelings, surcharged from quite different causes. 

Peters did not try to answer this question, but 
preferred rather to put the whole matter out of his 
mind and await events with what patience he could. 
He was unable to forget that it was he who was 
primarily responsible for bringing this reign of sor- 
row and suspicion into a previously happy family, 
and he continually reproached himself for ever hav- 
ing mentioned the ill-fated ruby. 

One morning Mrs. Bronson received an invitation 
from a sister to spend a week-end at Rye, and, after 
some hesitation, she decided to accept it. 

Jerry Bronson welcomed her decision because he 
thought it would do her good to have a change from 
the growing oppressiveness of the atmosphere in her 
own home. Joan was pleased for reasons of her 
own, but gladdest of all was the butler, because it 
removed from his view a sorely troubled woman 
whose presence was a perpetual reminder of a trem- 
bling figure that had leaned against the library door, 
one white hand at its throat and the other, clenched, 
hanging by its side. 


[ 219 ] 













Chapter Fifteen 


EXIT THE MINNEDINKER 

L IFE is full of little coincidences. Henry Bartlett 
had not thought of the Churchill-Ritz for 
months until he heard it mentioned in the detec- 
tive’s report from T. B. H., yet it was only a few days 
later that he accepted an invitation to dine with a 
friend, and the friend promptly selected the famous 
restaurant as being the only one in town really ade- 
quate to their needs, and appointed its gilded re- 
ception room as the rendezvous at seven-thirty. 

Bartlett was a little early, but he didn’t mind 
that. It was always amusing to sit on a comfortable 
sofa against the wall and put in a quarter of an hour 
reviewing the most fashionable crowd in New York. 
The women, usually beautiful and always well- 
dressed, stood out brilliantly against the darker 
background of their male escorts in the conven- 
tional black, forming a picture that could only be 
equaled at the Opera or the Horse Show. 

[ 221 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


For nearly ten minutes Bartlett, looking more 
pear-like than ever against the pink-satined back 
of his sofa, was perfectly contented in mind and 
body. This is a condition of well-being that not 
infrequently tempts the Fates to disagreeable inter- 
vention, and they attended to Bartlett’s case almost 
immediately. 

His attention was idly drawn to a party of four, 
two men and two women, who had just entered the 
room, and it was with a sharp feeling of discomfort 
that he suddenly recognized the tall, golden-haired 
young lady who led them on their way with a cool 
air of assurance that Bartlett was quick to re- 
member. He shrank in upon himself, trying hard 
to appear small and insignificant, and succeeding not 
at all. His heart gave a thump of dismay as he 
realized that she had not only seen him but was 
approaching him with the evident intention of 
speaking. She halted before him, the rest of her 
party waiting patiently in the offing, and he rose to 
greet her, looking very unhappy. There was 
nothing, he believed, that he cared to say to her. 

“ Don’t be frightened! ” she laughed at him. “ I 
haven’t a thing to squeak at you! ” 

[2221 


Exit the Minnedinker 


He was relieved to find her in such good-humor. 

“ You’re dining here, Miss Minnedinker? ” 

“ Cut the Minnedinker,” she adjured him. “ It’s 
Montmorency on Broadway — my mother’s name,” 
she added, from sheer force of habit. “ I have just 
come over to apologize for the other afternoon ; I’m 
afraid I was a little irritable.” 

“ Surely not,” murmured the Pear in honeyed ac- 
cents. “ I noticed nothing of the kind.” 

She gurgled at him. “ You know, you’re rather 
nice when you are not being asked for money ! Why 
did you feel obliged to be so harsh with a poor girl 
that afternoon when you knew all the time he was 
going to pay up? ” 

“ Pay up ! ” He stared at her. “ Who pay up 
what? ” 

“ Why, old Bronsie, I suppose ! ” She seemed no 
less surprised than he. “ Of course it was from him 
that Sidney got the cash to settle that note? ” 

“ Has — has Sidney done that? ” 

“ He has.” She regarded him thoughtfully. 
“ Where did he get the money if not from Unkie 
Jerry? ” 

“ I — I — No doubt you’re right.” Bartlett, re- 
[ 223 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


covering, grew a little cautious. “ It is quite pos- 
sible that Mr. Bronson may have decided to help him 
and not have mentioned the matter to me.” 

“Very likely! A man of Mr. Bronson’s firmness 
and resolution — those were your words, weren’t 
they? — might not care to confess his momentary 
weakness to you! ” She smiled at him sweetly. 
“ Well, I can’t keep my people waiting any longer. 
Bye-bye, old dear! ” She swept gracefully away. 

So Sidney had paid up! 

The news gave Bartlett plenty of food for serious 
reflection that evening, and in the morning, when he 
sadly related it to his partner, he was not surprised 
to see Jerry wince as if he had been struck. 

“ I expect I’d better tell Traynor about this at 
once,” he said after an interval. “He has never 
said outright that he thinks it was Sidney who took 
the ruby, but I’m afraid this bit of information will 
strike him as more or less conclusive.” 

“ It has a nasty look,” admitted Bartlett. “ But 
just to be contrary, Jerry, I’m going to believe in 
Sidney’s innocence until he comes out in so many 
words and tells me he’s a thief. I suppose it’s use- 
less to remind you again that we still have to hear 
[ 224 ] 


Exit the Minnedinker 


his own story? You are wrong to condemn him 
unheard.” 

“ Vm not condemning him, Henry,” remonstrated 
Bronson as he rose and took up his hat. “ It is 
the circumstances, and his own inexplicable actions, 
that are piling up the evidence against him.” 

“ Inexplicable is a peach of a word, Jerry, and de- 
serves to be used more cautiously. You’re off to see 
Traynor now? Well, let’s hope he will view this 
latest development in a different light than you. 
At all events he won’t jump quite so rapidly to 
conclusions.” 

The detective, however, came nearer to realizing 
Bronson’s fears than Bartlett’s hopes. His keen 
young face was very grave as Jerry finished his de- 
scription of his partner’s chance encounter with the 
fair Maybelle. 

“ This is exactly what I expected. You remember 
our operative in Mainesville reported that Sidney 
had received a telegram reading ‘ check de- 
posited ’? His first action after that was to sit down 
and write to the woman who held his note, and I 
felt then that the letter probably contained a check 
of his own in settlement of the debt.” 

[ 225 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ I feared as much myself,” confessed Jerry sadly. 
“ Then you — you think he took it? ” 

“ Much as I’d like to spare your feelings, Mr. 
Bronson, I must admit that I do. It would be 
stupid and cruel of me to encourage you with false 
hopes that would only add disappointment to your 
sorrow when they proved empty. The sole consola- 
tion I can offer you is that we have absolutely no 
definite proof that Sidney is guilty — and I don’t 
think we ever will have. I say that because the 
only way we could bring the crime home to him 
would be by arresting him and — ” 

“No, no! Anything but that! I may quarrel 
with him; I may order him out of my house; but 
I will not publicly brand him as a thief just at 
the outstart of his business career. My sister’s 
son. ...” 

“ There you are! ” The detective’s tone betrayed 
his annoyance, for which his next words accounted. 
“ Not a very satisfactory ending to the case from my 
point of view, but I am bound by your instructions.” 

“ I know,” answered Jerry huskily. “ I’m sorry. 
I suppose I am a very weak man — ” 

“You’re a very kind man,” broke in Traynor 

[ 226 ] 


Exit the Minnedinker 


quickly. “ I must beg your pardon for dragging in 
my selfish regrets at such a moment.” 

“ Am I to understand that you consider the case 
closed? ” 

“ That is for you to determine, Mr. Bronson. 
Even if we are pretty sure of the — er — light- 
fingered artist, there still remains the task of re- 
covering McKittrick’s ruby. Surely you haven't 
forgotten that? ” 

Jerry roused himself with an effort. 

“ I almost had,” he muttered, “ and even now I 
can't see how — ” 

“ Wait! Before you give up the idea as hopeless, 
let me run over the main facts of the case as I see 
them and then we can better decide how good a 
chance we have of recovering the jewel. 

“ In the first place, we have accepted Peters’ dec- 
laration that he found all the doors and windows 
properly fastened on the morning after the theft — 
and certainly he appears to be convincingly positive 
about that — and we have consequently assumed 
that someone in the house is the guilty person. 

“ We have practically eliminated everyone except 
Sidney, partly because we have nothing against the 
[ 227 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


others, and partly because so many pieces of circum- 
stantial evidence point to that young man as being 
the thief. 

“ As I see it, he entered the library that evening 
on a legitimate errand, and must have been fairly 
staggered for an instant when he saw the ruby lying 
before him and realized that it offered him a chance 
to get the money he needed so desperately. He 
weighed the possible consequences of being caught, 
and I’m very much afraid that he may have counted 
on the generosity that you are now showing; he 
could imagine your being firm in the matter of 
Maybelle even to the point of letting her secure a 
judgment against him, but he knew that your kind 
heart would never allow him to be arrested and 
disgraced even if he were caught red-handed. 

“ He took the ruby, drove to the club for the 
doctor, and returned with him to the house. An 
amateur in crime, we can guess at his nervous 
anxiety while he hung around waiting for the doctor 
to conclude his examination, fearful that the loss of 
the ruby might be noticed at any moment while he 
was right there with the spoils in his pocket — un- 
less, indeed, he had sense enough to bunk it some- 
[ 228 ] 


Exit the Minnedinker 


where by the roadside after leaving the house the 
first time. 

“ Anyway, he took the doctor home, and then his 
nerve failed him temporarily. He could not summon 
sufficient courage to face you that night, for he must 
have supposed that the ruby had been missed by 
then, so he drove to the station in time to catch 
the midnight train for New York. A more practiced 
crook would have gone back to face the music, but 
Sidney's first instinct was flight. 

“ The trip to Mainesville must have suited his end 
admirably, for it gave him an opportunity to steady 
his nerve before returning home, and time to con- 
coct a story to clear himself of suspicion. Mark 
my words, Mr. Bronson, he will come back from the 
country with some very plausible tale to account 
for his ability to pay Maybelle! ” 

“ I regret to say we have been unable to find out 
where he spent the afternoon of the day following 
the theft, but we do know that he returned to his 
club about five o'clock in a noticeably cheerful 
mood. That points to his having satisfactorily 
disposed of the ruby — " 

“ Could he have done it so quickly? " 

[229 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ My dear sir, it needn’t have taken him ten min- 
utes if he knew where to go ! I expect he did, and 
I have been using my best endeavors to find out 
where it was. Cautious inquiries have been made 
at all pawn-shops, and of a few wholesale jewelers 
who are notably not too fastidious about the antece- 
dents of the stones they buy, but all these routine 
efforts have drawn blanks. In addition, I have 
hunted up as many of Sidney’s cronies as I could 
find and have had them shadowed, hoping to pick up 
from their movements some hint that would put us 
on the trail of the fence, but nothing of the kind 
materialized.” 

“ But — but isn’t that a point in the boy’s 
favor? ” 

“ A pretty fine one, I’m afraid. We must concede 
that Sidney is no fool, and we may conclude that he 
perfected his arrangements to dispose of the ruby 
before he risked stealing it.” 

“What!” Jerry straightened in his chair and 
gazed at the detective with a face the color of old 
ivory. “ Are you suggesting that he had planned 
the theft? How can you possibly take that for 
granted unless you have evidence to prove it? ” 
[ 230 ] 


Exit the Minnedinker 


“We have just that, Mr. Bronson.” 

Jerry, stricken speechless, stared at the speaker. 
His lips moved but no words issued from them; he 
gripped the arms of his chair to stay the trembling 
of his hands. Traynor, with a gloomy expression, 
drew his notebook from his pocket and slowly turned 
its leaves until he came to the entry that he sought. 
He glanced over it a moment and then raised his 
eyes from the page to Bronson in mute inquiry. 

“ Go on. Go . . . on.” 

“ Two days before the ruby was stolen,” said 
Traynor quietly, “ Miss Ayres and Sidney had a 
conversation in the library — you will recall the 
occasion when I tell you that it followed immediately 
upon the interview in which you refused to help 
him meet Maybelle’s note. He was considerably 
upset and in a mood to talk freely of his troubles 
to the first comer, so he told Miss Ayres something 
of the situation in which he was placed. She gener- 
ously offered to help him, not knowing how large a 
sum was involved, but he waved aside her proposal 
as futile and went on to say — I have what purports 
to be his exact words here — ‘ I’ve as much chance 
of raising twenty-five million as twenty-five hun- 
[ 231 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


dred, unless I take a can-opener and bust into that 
tin safe. I expect Uncle Jerry’s rubies would melt 
down to what I need.” Traynor shut his book and 
replaced it in his pocket. “ You will say truly that 
a reckless speech of that sort is no proof that he 
took the ruby, but it is proof that the idea had oc- 
curred to him at least forty-eight hours before the 
lucky opportunity presented itself. I’m inclined to 
think that he utilized some of those hours in dis- 
covering a safe way to dispose of anything he might 
get his hands on — ” 

“ Please! ” Jerry threw out an imploring hand. 
“ You have told me all I can bear to hear. ...” 

The detective looked sympathetically at the 
stricken figure before him, then rose and left the 
room for a minute or two. He came back with a 
tumbler full of brownish liquid that he held out to 
Bronson. 

“ Won’t you drink this, sir? It’s some excellent 
Bourbon, and you will feel the better for it. It’s 
a pity the law doesn’t allow detectives to prescribe 
it, as well as doctors! We have to give our clients 
some nasty jolts at times.” 

Bronson automatically took the whisky and swal- 
[ 232 ] 


Exit the Minnedinker 


lowed it at a gulp. It brought tears to his eyes, but 
it also lent fresh strength to body and spirit. In a 
few moments he was able to control his voice to the 
point of speech. 

“ We were speaking of the chances of recovering 
the ruby. What is your idea, Mr. Traynor? ” 

“ To advertise. The usual formula: liberal re- 
ward and no questions.” 

“ Oh ! And you think that may bring results? ” 

“ It will depend somewhat upon the reward. The 
thief, whoever he may be, has played his cards 
cleverly, and we will only be doing him justice if we 
assume that he has taken the ruby to some fence 
who is at the top of his profession. Such a man is 
not apt to be in need of ready money ; he can afford 
to keep the stone until it is comparatively safe to 
dispose of it, and he will naturally not look at a 
reward unless it is a considerable sum.” 

“ Why should he look at it at all? Wouldn’t he 
be certain to get more money by waiting and selling 
the ruby? ” 

“ You forget the element of danger that would 
still exist no matter how careful he might be; such 
gentry are willing enough to play safe if they can 
[ 233 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


get a substantial reward — and no questions asked.” 

“ I will offer a reward of twenty-five hundred 
dollars,” said Jerry, who could make up his mind 
very quickly when required. 

For once Traynor permitted an exclamation of 
surprise to pass his lips. 

“ That is certainly a generous offer ! ” 

“ Well, if your assumptions are correct the re- 
ward has need to be large. Also, I can give up that 
amount with equanimity since I would have been 
out that sum anyway over this wretched business.” 

“ What do you mean, sir? ” 

“ Maybelle’s note, of course. I had determined to 
pay that in the end, so if I recover the ruby for that 
sum I am out only what I expected to be.” 

Traynor smiled, and regarded Bronson with some 
admiration. 

“ That is at once a philosophical and very sporting 
way to look at it! Well — if you wish me to insert 
an advertisement along those lines I feel fairly con- 
fident that such a big bait will hook a very big 
fish.” 

“ I devoutly trust so,” sighed Jerry, and rose to 
his feet. “You see, all that is left to me now is 
[ 234 ] 


Exit the Minnedinker 


to square myself with McKittrick. He, after all, 
is the real loser in this whole wretched affair. I 
have been forgetting him in the thought of my own 
troubles, but my conscience would never give me 
any peace if I didn’t use my utmost efforts to get 
back his ruby.” 

“ You might reimburse him.” 

“ Not the same thing at all. Neither monetary 
compensation nor the gift of my own ruby, so ex- 
actly like his, would be as satisfactory as returning 
his own property which was lost through my con- 
founded carelessness.” 

“ I see.” Traynor accompanied the broker to the 
door of the outer office where he again voiced his 
regret at such an anti-climactic end to his work. “ I 
can quite understand your attitude toward your 
nephew, Mr. Bronson, but it doesn’t make for a 
clean-cut case.” 

“ That is my fault, Traynor.” Jerry held out his 
hand. “ You must sacrifice your professional pride 
this time to the sentimental whim of an old man.” 

Back again in his office, he recounted the details 
of his talk with the detective to Bartlett. It shook 
him considerably to state the case in its bald con- 
[ 235 ] 


The Mystery oj the Twin Rubies 


ditions. The Pear listened attentively, shook his 
head mournfully a number of times, and, by way 
of consolation, lit a cigar that exceeded his daily 
limit. 

Here's a how-de-do, here’s a pretty mess! 
he quoted dolefully. “ Sidney is found guilty with- 
out a trial ; if you get the ruby back it will cost you 
twenty-five hundred ; and in my opinion you’ll never 
find the real thief! No wonder people prefer de- 
tectives in fiction to the lunatics in real life.” 

Jerry Bronson massaged his scalp sadly. 

Nobody who watched him alight from the train 
that afternoon at Claredale would have recognized 
in him the dapper gentleman who had carried him- 
self so jauntily on that same platform less than two 
weeks ago. His air was one of utter dejection, his 
appearance that of a thoroughly disheartened man. 

It seemed to him only in keeping with the mis- 
fortune that dogged him these days that there was 
no blue car, no affectionate greeting from Joan, to 
welcome him. Ordinarily in these circumstances he 
walked briskly home; to-day he trudged heavily. 

Yet there was held in reserve for him one pleasant 
surprise to brighten this day of gloom. Peters 
[ 236 ] 


Exit the Minnedinker 


opened the door as usual, but Jerry’s eyes went to 
the slender figure that stood behind him and that 
hurried forward as soon as his identity was manifest. 

“Mary! ” he cried, as she came into his arms. 
“ I didn’t expect you for days yet! ” 

“Oh — I couldn’t stay away from you any 
longer! ” she laughed. 

He held her off and regarded her quizzically. 
“ I’m sure I don’t see what else could have brought 
you back! The change has evidently done you a 
world of good. You look like a new person! ” 

“Oh, Jerry! ” she cried, and her clasp tightened 
on his arm. “ I’m the happiest woman alive, I do 
believe! ” 

Behind them, unnoticed, the butler started 
slightly. 


[ 237 ] 
































1 







Chapter Sixteen 


NEWS OF THE RUBY 

T HE following morning Jerry opened his Herald 
at the breakfast table with more eagerness 
than he had shown in that daily custom for some 
time, but he passed by the news and editorial pages 
and turned his whole attention to the “ Lost and 
Found ” column. 

He had left the phrasing of the advertisement to 
Traynor, and he noted with pleasure that the detec- 
tive had drawn up a notice that was at once clear 
and discreet. There was nothing to suggest that 
the ruby had been stolen, nor any hint that it was 
from Claredale that it had disappeared, but the de- 
scription of the jewel and the date of its loss would 
identify it beyond all doubt if the offer of the reward 
was read by the man they wanted to have read it. 
As Traynor had remarked, rubies of that size and 
value were not “ lost ” every day, and even if some 
dealer had bought the stone in good faith he would 
[ 239 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


see from the advertisement that there was something 
dubious about the antecedents of his purchase. 
What such a man might do thereafter depended very 
largely on the quality of his honesty. . . . 

That morning ushered in a red-letter day in the 
life of Joan Ayres. Jerry Bronson had just laid 
aside his paper when he heard her give a startled 
exclamation, and he looked up to see her staring 
with puckered brows at a typewritten letter that 
had fluttered from her relaxed fingers on to the table 
before her. 

“ What is it, Joan? Not bad news, I hope.” 

“ It's from England,” answered the girl slowly, 
and a little sadly. “ From a firm of lawyers in 
Wicklecombe, to tell me that Uncle Teddy is dead.” 

“ Uncle Teddy? ” repeated Jerry somewhat 
vaguely. He had never kept very close track of her 
English relatives. “ Who was Uncle Teddy? ” 

“ My mother's eldest brother. Of course I haven’t 
seen him for a million years, but I can remember 
how good he was to me when I was a child — and 
to everyone else for that matter. Uncle Teddy had 
a life habit of being good to others.” 

He murmured a few words of condolence. 

[ 240 ] 


News of the Ruby 


“ Apparently Uncle Teddy has left everything to 
me,” continued Joan glancing again at the letter. 
“ That is really why these lawyers have written. 
They want me to come over, if possible, and help 
settle the estate.” 

Jerry straightened in his chair. 

“ Oh, do they ! ” he cried with some asperity. 
“ Well, unless the estate is something very handsome 
and complicated, I shall certainly not let you go! ” 
“ Dear Cousin Jerry! ” She smiled at him wist- 
fully, and the lovely blue eyes were moist. “ No, 
it’s not a large fortune. Only a small cottage and 
a small garden — both old-fashioned and delightful, 
as I remember them — and the income from some 
securities that amounts to a few hundred a year.” 

“ Oh, is that all! ” He pretended vast relief. 
“ Well then, tell your lawyer people to put the whole 
thing in an envelope and mail it to you! ” Moved 
to a rare display of emotion, he leaned towards her 
and covered her hand with his own. “ I can’t let 
any of the sunshine go out of my life just when so 
many shadows seem to be falling upon it! ” 

“ Dear Cousin Jerry!” she repeated still more 
softly. “ You’ve been so good to me always — and 

l 24 * ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


now this tiresome money comes along and makes 
me independent! ” 

“ Joan ! ” he stared at her aghast. “ What are 
you suggesting? Can't you stay here and enjoy 
your independence like a sensible person? Do you 
have to rush off as far as — as the moon, to cele- 
brate it? After all your Cousin Mary and I have 
done to make you happy, do you think this is the 
way to reward us? ” 

“ Oh ! ” Joan wasn’t proof against this attack, 
and she gave an audible, warning sniff. “ But, don’t 
you see, you two dears have already done enough 
for a homeless stray or-orphan. I c-can’t let you go 
on d-doing more! ” 

“ Idiot! ” 

“ I’m n-not an idiot! ” The girl dried her eyes 
and managed to swallow the greater part of her dis- 
tress in one emotional gulp. “ Besides, Cousin 
Jerry, I haven’t told you everything. Last year I 
had a long letter from Uncle Teddy in which he said 
he was going to leave me the old place — it’s been 
in the family for centuries! — and asked me to live 
in it and keep it up. Naturally, I said I would, but 
I never dreamed he would d-die so soon! ” 

[ 242 ] 


News of the Ruby 


“ You can never tell,” said Jerry darkly. “ Take 
me, for instance; I appear to be perfectly healthy, 
but I have reached an advanced age — a very ad- 
vanced age, Joan! — and I may shuffle off at any 
time. Under the distressing possibility of that, I 
do not see how you can reconcile the idea of leaving 
me — ” 

“ Oh — stop!” 

Peters had missed the greater part of this con- 
versation, and as he entered at this moment with a 
fresh supply of coffee he was surprised to see that 
Joan was apparently divided between laughter and 
tears. Her next words however gave him the clue 
to much that had passed. 

“ Cousin Jerry, I am immeasurably shocked by 
this revelation of your internal decay, but it only 
strengthens my resolve.” She looked again at the 
disturbing communication from England. “ Perhaps 
if I ask you very prettily you will let me come back 
to be with you at the end, but, in the meantime, 
it does seem to me that I ought to do what these 
lawyers ask — and that is, to go to England as soon 
as possible and — ” 

“ Confound you, Peters! ” 

[243 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Oh — sir! ” cried the butler in an agony of 
contrition. 

The coffee pot had slipped in his hand as he was 
pouring Jerry’s second cup, and a stream of coffee 
that Mrs. O’Malley prided herself on keeping at the 
boiling point was diverted from its proper destina- 
tion and precipitated upon Jerry’s knee. He sprang 
to his feet, hopping with pain, while the butler 
hopped after and around him with soothing pats of 
a napkin. 

The incident effectually ended any further dis- 
cussion of Joan’s plans, for that heartless young 
woman, having ascertained that “ dear Cousin 
Jerry ” was more startled than hurt, laughed at his 
plight until he went off sulkily to change his 
trousers. 

Peters kept discreetly out of sight until Jerry 
had left the house, spending the time in the pantry 
while he struggled with a number of conflicting 
emotions. Now, he was filled with shame at the 
recollection of his clumsiness; then, doubled up 
helplessly with laughter as he remembered how he 
and the unfortunate broker had pirouetted about 
the dining-room; finally, sobered and a little 
[ 244 ] 


News of the Ruby 


dismayed at the thought of how empty the house 
would seem after cheery Joan’s departure. . . , 

At ten o’clock, the postman’s whistle, heralding 
the second mail delivery, recalled the butler to the 
serious performance of his duties. He went to the 
front door and received a circular, a local bill, and 
an appeal for charity, all of which he placed neatly 
on a tray and bore off to Mrs. Bronson. 

He found her in her sitting-room on the second 
floor, seated at her desk. After he had knocked, he 
remained standing in the doorway waiting for her 
to acknowledge his presence, but she did not choose 
to do so until she completed the short task upon 
which she was engaged at the moment. She had 
evidently just written a check, and now she tore it 
from her book and slipped it into an envelope, which 
she sealed but did not address. He noted idly that, 
as she pounded upon the flap to insure its sticking, 
she did so with a suggestion of intense satisfaction, 
as of pleasure at a duty done at last. Then she 
turned and beckoned to the butler. 

“ Thank you, Peters. ... Do you know where 
Miss Joan is? ” 

“ On the veranda, ma’am.” 

[ 245 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Please ask her if she will come here.” 

The butler departed on this new errand, but he 
paused as he reached the front door. He stood for 
a long minute staring at Joan, who was seated at 
the farther end of the veranda, and was perfectly 
unconscious that she was being watched. She was 
leaning back in her chair, her hands folded in her 
lap, and her fingers clutching the crumpled letter 
from England; her blue eyes gazed unseeing into 
space, her lovely face appeared troubled, almost 
tired, but the butler thought she had never looked 
more beautiful than at this moment when the joy 
of going home fought with the pain of leaving her 
friends. 

He advanced with his message. 

“ Thank you, Peters.” 

She rose at once, and he stood aside and bowed 
slightly as she passed; but his eyes were not on the 
ground, where he knew very well they should have 
been, and they remained fixed on the empty door- 
way long after she had vanished through it into 
the house. . . . 

He saw her again an hour later when he answered 
the library bell and found it was Joan who had rung. 

[ 246 ] 


News of the Ruby 


She was just hanging up the receiver of the tele- 
phone, and he noted subconsciously that she had 
changed her dress and had put on a hat; but what 
really caught his eye the moment he entered was 
the unstamped envelope that lay beside her parasol 
on the desk, its superscription written in Mrs. Bron- 
son’s heavy, legible script. The address fairly yelled 
at him from across the room, and though the shock 
was a disagreeable one, yet he knew that he had 
been expecting just some such thing. He could ad- 
mit now that he had had a premonition of the ugly 
truth when he saw her slipping a check into that 
same envelope. . . . 

Joan picked up the parasol and the letter, and 
her pleasant voice, with its faint English accent, 
broke in upon his thoughts. 

“ Peters, I’m going over to the Lathams’, and they 
have asked me to stay to lunch. Will you tell Mrs. 
Bronson, please? ” 

He bowed silently and withdrew. Alone in the 
pantry, he lit a cigarette and mused irritably on the 
persistent way in which chance continued to feed 
the fire of his suspicions. He was everlastingly 
picking up odd scraps of information that tended 
[ 247 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


always to convince him of Mrs. Bronson's guilt — 
and he was steadily growing more and more loth to 
believe such a thing of Jerry Bronson’s attractive 
young wife. 

But his reluctance to entertain the possibility 
could not efface from consideration the fact that the 
night before she had declared herself the happiest 
of women, and that this morning she had sent off a 
check in settlement of a very troublesome debt. 

Where had she obtained that money? 

The advertisement, with its tempting offer of 
twenty-five hundred dollars and no questions asked, 
ran for two mornings without any answer, but, 
shortly after one o’clock on the third day, Jerry 
Bronson, seated in his office, received a message that 
gave him a sharp thrill of expectancy. It was Tray- 
nor’s voice that came to him over the telephone. 

“ Can you come around? ” asked the detective. 
“ The morning mail has brought a nibble at our 
bait. Unfortunately I did not reach the office until 
a few minutes ago, and, more unfortunately still, 
I am detained here now, or I would call on you and 
give you a bit of information — ” 

[ 248 ] 


News of the Ruby 


“ I’ll come immediately ! ” cried Jerry, interrupt- 
ing his apologies. 

He hung up the receiver, seized his hat and cane, 
and prepared to be as good as his word. Then it 
occurred to him that there was a bit of real-estate 
in the Bronx at which he had long wanted to look, 
so he left a message with the office-boy for Bartlett 
to the effect that he would not return to the office 
that afternoon. From such small acorns do big oaks 
grow — ! 

He was rather cheered by the news from Traynor, 
because of late he had suffered conscientious prick- 
ings on the score of his responsibility to McKittrick. 
He was glad to hear that there had been a response 
to the advertisement. Twenty-five hundred dollars 
was a stiff figure, but after all he could afford it, and 
it was not too high a price to pay for the luxury of 
leaving a five-thousand dollar ruby kicking around 
his desk where the first crook could grab it. 

Whether or not Sidney were guilty — and Jerry 
felt there was very little doubt left on that score — 
he could not exonerate himself from his initial stu- 
pidity nor from the necessity of retrieving himself 
in the opinion of McKittrick. He still felt remark- 
[ 249 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


ably uncomfortable when he thought of that gentle- 
man’s telegraphed characterization of Peters, who 
after all had only been trying to serve his 
interests. . . . 

“ I’m delighted to think there’s a chance of re- 
covering the ruby,” he told Traynor, shaking hands 
warmly. 

“ I suppose it’s something,” admitted the detective 
unwillingly, “ though the idea of bargaining with a 
crook goes a bit against the grain. If we could nab 
our man — ” 

“Please!” protested Jerry. “I’m afraid we’re 
agreed on who our man is, and — well, it may seem 
ridiculous, but if — if he is guilty, I’d just as soon 
not have it proved.” 

The detective shrugged his shoulders, but at the 
same time he nodded understandingly. He opened 
a drawer in his desk and drew out a sheet of letter- 
paper. 

“Here’s the answer I received this morning. It 
appears to be a typical communication from a 
typical criminal.” 

“deer sir,” read Jerry, “if you want yure ruby 
meet me Saterday morning at ten o’clock at 213 
[250] 


News of the Ruby 


Mulberry street, the word is ‘ruby/ Bring the 
cash and dont try no games or the deal is off.” 

There was no signature. Jerry read it twice, and 
handed it back to Traynor. 

“ Not a very literate person,” he said. 

“ Fm not so sure,” commented Traynor. He 
tapped the missive thoughtfully with his fingers as 
he glanced over it. “ The illiteracy is perhaps 
feigned — and not very artistically. He has been 
careful to misspell a few words and to ignore capi- 
tals and punctuation — but a really illiterate person 
would hardly have put that apostrophe in ‘ o’clock/ 
would he? No, Mr. Bronson, I’m inclined to think 
that Mr. Fence is a shrewd fellow, as we assumed 
at first.” 

“ There’s one thing I don’t like about it,” said 
Jerry meditatively. “He hasn’t named a very 
choice neighborhood for the rendezvous. Suppose 
this is only a hoax to get you or me there with 
twenty-five hundred in cash? ” 

A smile came and went on the detective’s face. 
“ I take these risks on an average of once a month,” 
he answered lightly. ^ It’s part of my business. 
As for the neighborhood, I daresay our friend has 
[ 251 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


been clever enough to choose a place from which 
he can escape if we — er — try to trap him.” 

“ Trap him? ” 

“ Well,” replied the detective, looking away, “ it 
might be possible to surround his house, or the whole 
block if necessary, with a cordon of plain-clothes 
police. They'd almost surely land him. ...” 

Jerry Bronson contemplated this prospect for an 
instant, and when he replied his whole character was 
epitomized in his decision. 

“ Crook or no crook, Mr. Traynor,” he said firmly, 
“ we have, in our advertisement, tacitly promised 
this man safe conduct. I do not think we should 
take advantage of his trust in our good faith.” 

“ Right! ” The young detective flushed a little 
at the implied rebuke, but his answer was cordial, 
and the glance that he shot at his employer was not 
devoid of admiration. “ I knew you’d feel that way, 
Mr. Bronson. But you see, if there is one thing my 
profession has taught me, it is to despise and con- 
demn, more than I do the thief, the receiver of 
stolen goods.” 

Jerry did not choose to debate the question fur- 
ther. He had picked up the letter they were con- 
[ 252 ] 


News of the Ruby 


sidering and was regarding it frowningly. “ By the 
way, the appointment is for to-morrow morning — 
and calls for cash. I suppose it must be cash? ” 

The detective merely looked amused at the ques- 
tion. Jerry glanced at his watch and grew slightly 
embarrassed. 

“ The fact is, Mr. Traynor — you see, it's Friday, 
and it’s going to be rather difficult for me to get 
that amount in currency between now and to- 
morrow morning at ten. I don’t keep a very big 
balance at the bank and I shall have to sell some 
securities to get this money. It is already rather 
late in the day to get them — they’re in my safe- 
deposit box — sell them, and get the money before 
the close of banking hours. Couldn’t you insert 
another notice postponing the meeting for twenty- 
four hours? ” 

Traynor thought a moment, then shook his head 
decisively. 

“ That wouldn’t be wise. Nothing we could do 
would be more calculated to arouse suspicion in the 
mind of a crook. These fellows are scary birds, 
Mr. Bronson, aqd he would see in such an advertise- 
ment only a clumsy attempt on our part to gain 
[ 253 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


time to investigate 213 Mulberry Street and make 
our arrangements to catch him in a net of police- 
men.” 

“ No doubt you are right. Well, I suppose I can 
go to my bank and borrow the money on my 
note — ” 

“ One moment! ” Traynor rose and went to the 
big safe, which he opened, and consulted a bank- 
book. “ Yes, as I thought, the firm has a very fair 
balance just at present. I’ll get the money myself 
in time to meet Mr. Crook. That will save you 
some trouble, and,” he added almost shamefacedly, 
“ I have done so little for you on this case that it 
will be a real pleasure to me to help you in this 
minor detail.” 

Bronson grew still more embarrassed. 

“ It’s really very good of you — ” he began. 

“ Not at all! ” The detective raised a protesting 
hand. “ On the contrary, I will consider that you 
are doing me a favor in letting me be of some use. 
Now, let me see; you don’t usually come to town on 
Saturdays during the summer, do you? ” 

“ N-no. Why?” 

“ I was thinking that I might save you the neces- 
[254] 


News of the Ruby 


sity of doing so to-morrow. If I get the ruby in the 
morning, which I hope with all my heart will be the 
case, 111 be delighted to bring it out to you at 
Claredale. Then you can give me your check, dated 
as far ahead as your convenience may dictate, and 
I will have — at least — the artistic satisfaction of 
handing you the ruby in the same room from which 
it disappeared.” 

Jerry Bronson braced himself to meet the other’s 
mood. 

“ It’s awfully good of you, Traynor! ” he cried 
gratefully again. “ As for your method of returning 
the ruby, I think it is excellent! I shall have the 
whole household there to witness the ceremony, and 
after that you must stay to lunch and see if Mrs. 
O’Malley’s cooking lives up to your first sample 
of it.” 

“ Ah ! ” said the detective heartily. “ There is 
something to which I shall look forward indeed! ” 


[ 255 ] 



Chapter Seventeen 

A CLUE TO THE THIEF 

W HILE Jerry Bronson was talking to the de- 
tective, Peters, it being his day off, was in 
the train speeding from Claredale to New York, and 
heartily glad to have a little time to himself. 

If he had a sick mother in the city, as he had in- 
formed Mr. Jackson, she was doomed to suffer from 
filial neglect on this afternoon. Peters went straight 
to a small but attractive-looking apartment house in 
the East Forties, nodded a greeting to the elevator- 
boy, who welcomed him with a grin, and ascended 
to the third floor. Here he drew a latch-key from 
his pocket, and proceeded to open the door of one 
of the four apartments on that story, and although 
the key did not work as smoothly as usual, causing 
him a moment’s impatience, he was soon inside the 
flat. 

The rooms were stale and stuffy from disuse, and 
his first care was to make a tour of the apartment 
[257 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


and open every one of the windows; then he re- 
turned to the front room, which was arranged as a 
very comfortable bachelor sitting-room, and pro- 
ceeded to make himself entirely at home. He pulled 
up McKittrick’s favorite chair to a spot where it 
would receive some benefit from the faint current 
of air that came through the window, took an ex- 
cellent cigar which he chose with great care from 
McKittrick’s best box, and settled himself to puzzle 
his wits over a number of things. 

He wondered, first of all, what Jerry Bronson 
might think of him. It was all very well for him to 
realize his own innocence, but he could not lose sight 
of the fact that his virtue might not be so obvious 
to the eyes of others. He was quite aware that his 
action in taking the ruby to Claredale was, on the 
surface, distinctly irregular, and, as Traynor had 
suggested to Mrs. Bronson, he was intelligent enough 
to realize that he might be suspected of an elaborate 
scheme to possess himself of the ruby at the expense 
of the unfortunate Jerry. It caused him amazement 
at times to think that the finger of suspicion had 
never been directly pointed at him, but not one of 
the family, by word or glance, had ever suggested 
[ 258 ] 


A Clue to the Thief 


the possibility of his being the thief, but had rather 
made it plain, if anything, that they considered him, 
equally with Jerry, as a subject for sympathy. This 
magnanimity hardly tended to comfort the man who 
had innocently brought all this trouble on a once- 
peaceful family. . . . 

What a mess it all was ! Peters had never before 
experienced the effect that a theft can have upon 
people who hitherto regarded one another with es- 
teem and respect, and he never wanted to again. 
Here was he suspecting the mistress of the house, 
a woman whom he would ordinarily have liked well 
enough even if he considered her a bit too selfish 
and a bit too pushing socially. And Jerry Bronson 
was obviously hurting himself more than anyone 
else by suspecting that young scapegrace, Sidney. 
Peters was inclined to wonder at the tenacity with 
which Jerry clung to his theory, for the broker had 
never told him in detail all the scraps of evidence 
that pointed to his nephew as the thief. The butler 
only knew what he had gathered in a general way — 
that the boy was, in a general way, given to sport- 
ing adventures, and was in pressing need of a large 
sum of money as the result of some escapade ; he was 
[ 259 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


not aware of the existence of Maybelle, much less 
that Sidney had discharged his indebtedness. 

As for Mrs. Bronson — whom she might suspect, 
provided she were innocent herself, he did not have 
the least idea. No intuition came to tell him that 
she had mentioned his own name to Traynor! 

Then there was Julia. Peters had frequently 
asked himself if he had not allowed a misguided 
sentiment to run away with common prudence in 
so summarily concluding that she had had no part 
in the affair. He could not help wondering if the 
girl had simply been clever enough to guess his good- 
nature and impose upon it. Suppose she were even 
now laughing to herself at his credulity? Suppose 
as a result of his well-intentioned but misguided 
kindness Jerry Bronson were to awaken some morn- 
ing to find all his own rubies vanished overnight? 
How would he, Peters, feel then? 

The thought was so disagreeable that he did his 
best to put it on one side, but it cropped up again 
almost directly as a corollary to still another puzzle, 
which was why had Traynor never referred again 
to the burning of Julia's papers, of whose destruction 
the detective had so luckily learned? To Peters, 
[ 260 ] 


A Clue to the Thief 


the man’s silence was apparently inexplicable. He 
could only account for it by assuming that Traynor 
might be following some other lead of his own — in 
which case he might be so sure of himself as to dis- 
regard any other incidents that he had encountered 
in the course of his investigation. . . . 

Peters lit another cigar and wished for the hun- 
dredth time that he had never taken that confounded 
ruby to Claredale. He would have wished that he 
had never gone there himself, except — ! The 
thought of Joan Ayres passed through his mind and 
dissipated his troubled musings, just as the fresh 
outer air, when he opened the windows, had swept 
through the apartment and refreshed its vitiated 
atmosphere. And soon she would be leaving — in 
fact, had already made application for her passport. 

But the butler had one or two matters to attend 
to in the city, and, when he had finished his second 
cigar, he rose and took his hat from the chair from 
which he had tossed it. He spent a few minutes in 
removing all traces of his presence, shut the windows 
again, and then left the apartment. He shut the 
door behind him as he stepped into the hall, but, 
as the building was an old one and the management 
[ 261 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


had never troubled to install automatic locks, he was 
obliged to produce his key again and turn it in the 
door. Once again the lock proved refractory, and 
Peters gave an exclamation of annoyance. 

“Dash the thing! ” he muttered. “I suppose 
this means a job for the locksmith — ” 

Locksmith ! The word, passing through his brain, 
seemed to light a mental torch that flared up sud- 
denly and appeared to illumine everything! Any- 
one passing through the hall in the next few minutes 
must have been astonished by the sight of a quietly 
dressed young man leaning against the wall and 
holding both hands to his head as though fearful 
that it would burst. 

“Well, I’ll be damned!” he said aloud, after 
nearly a minute had passed. “ Of all the asinine 
things — ! ” 

He dismissed all thought of other matters, and, 
re-entering the apartment, he went direct to the 
telephone and called the number of Bronson and 
Bartlett's office. While he waited impatiently for 
Central to give him the connection, his memory went 
back to his first day at Claredale, when a dirty, be- 
whiskered individual, slightly inebriated, had come 
[ 262 ] 


A Clue to the Thief 


to repair the lock of Bronson’s front door when he 
should have gone to Bristed’s. Could it be possible? 
A darned clever trick — 

“ H’lo ! ” said a curt voice in his ear. 

“ Hello! Is Mr. Bronson there?” 

“ Nope. He’s out.” 

“Mr. Bartlett, then.” 

“ Hold th’ wire.” 

There was the sound of a plug being pushed in, 
the whirring of a distant buzzer, and then a new 
voice took up the conversation. 

“ Mr. Bartlett speaking.” 

“ This is Peters, sir, Mr. Bronson’s butler.” 

“Eh — oh, yes!” The Pear’s voice, calmly 
business-like at first, became more friendly. “ I’ve 
been hearing quite a lot about you lately, Peters. 
What can I do for you? ” 

“I wanted to speak to Mr. Bronson, sir. I’ve 
just thought of something that he ought to know 
at once.” 

“ That’s too bad. Mr. Bronson is out, and when 
he went he left a message to say he was going up- 
town and would not be back this afternoon. I can’t 
even tell you where to try him on the ’phone. Has 
[263 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


your information anything to do with that wretched 
ruby? ” 

“Yes, I believe it has everything to do with it. 
I have an idea, sir, that I’ve guessed the thief.” 

“ The deuce you have ! ” 

“ I’d better tell you, sir, in case you see Mr. Bron- 
son before I do.” 

Peters thereupon described, as briefly as possible, 
the visit of the locksmith and his tale of a mistaken 
address. Bartlett listened with the greatest at- 
tention, though his occasional curt comments did 
not sound as if he were very much impressed with 
the butler’s theory. The Pear, however, was glad, 
in a measure, of anything that appeared to exoner- 
ate Sidney, and he was also sensible enough to know 
that such a piece of information should go immedi- 
ately to the headquarters of the investigation. 

“ Peters, you know Mr. Traynor, of course? ” 

“Oh, yes, sir! ” 

“ Well, you’d better call him up at once, or better 
still, go to see him. He is the man to determine 
if there is anything in this.” 

“ Quite so, sir. I’ll attend to it right away.” 

Peters hung up the receiver, and then called up 
[ 264 ] 


A Clue to the Thief 


the office of Traynor, Foster and Henderson. A 
woman answered, from whom he learned that Tray- 
nor had just stepped out and would not be back at 
the office until quarter to four, when he would un- 
doubtedly be interested to hear of any fresh devel- 
opment in the Bronson case. 

“Fll be there promptly,” promised Peters. 

The butler was on time to the minute when he 
kept the appointment, and Traynor was no less 
punctual. He greeted his visitor cordially, and 
Peters was not sorry to believe from his manner 
that the incident of the burnt papers was still being 
overlooked — to say nothing of a front door that 
had undeniably been slammed! 

He was ushered into the inner room, and, after 
glancing about him, he decided, as Bronson had, 
that it was quite the best appointed office he had 
ever seen. His eyes came back to the detective as 
Traynor spoke. 

“My secretary tells me you have something to 
communicate in regard to the disappearance of that 
ruby.” 

“Yes, sir. I don’t know how important it is, 
but I thought you should know at once. It’s just 
[ 265 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


this. The first day I was at Mr. Bronson’s, a man 
came with a kit of tools and said he’d been ordered 
to repair the lock of the front door. After he had 
taken it to pieces, he called me again and said that 
he’d made a mistake, that he’d really been sent to 
the Bristeds’, whose house is near-by. He put things 
back as he had found them, apologized for his error, 
and went away.” 

“ For Heaven’s sake, Peters ! ” Traynor looked 
annoyed and nonplussed. “Why in the world 
didn’t you tell me this before? ” 

“ I simply never thought about it, sir. I know 
one should think of everything in a case like this, 
but the incident at the time seemed very trivial 
and its possible significance never occurred to me 
until to-day.” 

“Well, well, better late than never! Of course 
I see what you are driving at, but suppose you tell 
me just what your idea is, so that I may see if it 
coincides with mine.” 

“ It has struck me, sir, that the man wasn’t a 
locksmith, at all, but just a plain crook. He may 
have come there in that disguise, taken an impres- 
sion of the lock — which no doubt a skilful man 
[ 266 ] 


A Clue to the Thief 


could do quicker than the eye could follow — made 
a key from it, and then burgled the house at his 
leisure.” 

“ Exactly.” The detective leaned back in his 
chair and thought for a moment. “ It is certainly 
an attractive theory, Peters. Now, do you remem- 
ber if he said where he came from? ” 

“ He didn’t mention who employed him, sir, but 
I believe he belongs in Claredale because I remem- 
ber his saying that he was new to the place.” 

“ Good. That gives us a point to start from, at 
least. It won’t be very difficult to find out if such 
a man is employed by any local concern, and if he 
isn’t, then it’s dollars to doughnuts that he is our 
bird! ” 

After Bartlett’s apparent scepticism, Peters was 
mildly cheered by Traynor’s evident interest. The 
detective produced his note-book and pencil. 

“Now, then, let me have the best description 
you can give of this locksmith.” 

“Well, sir, he was short, inclined to stoop, had 
black hair and a black beard, was the dirtiest man 
I ever saw in my life, and — I’m afraid that’s 
about all I can say.” 


[ 267 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ It’s about on a par with the average layman’s 
description of a person,” grumbled Traynor. “ For- 
tunately, it is good enough for our immediate pur- 
pose. You’ve let me in for a busy afternoon, Peters 
— I don’t suppose you’ve seen Mr. Bronson, or heard 
from him, this afternoon? ” 

“No, sir.” 

“ He was here just a few hours ago. I have some 
news that will be of interest to you. You knew, 
of course, that he was advertising a reward for the 
ruby? ” 

“Yes, I knew that.” 

“ This morning we received an answer. No doubt 
you would like to see it. In fact,” Traynor smiled 
the ghost of a smile, “ I know — from Mr. Bronson 
of course — that you have every right to see it ! ” 
The butler started slightly, but Traynor was search- 
ing a drawer of his desk and before he looked up 
again Peters’ face wore its usual impassive mask. 
“ Here it is.” 

Peters glanced over the letter. 

“ You’re going to follow this up? ” 

“ Certainly. But the case has now a somewhat 
different set. You know that Mr. Bronson is, if 
[ 268 ] 


A Clue to the Thief 


anything, more anxious to recover the ruby than to 
catch the thief.” 

“ Provided,” amended Peters slowly, “ that the 
thief is whom he believes him to be.” 

“ Ah — exactly ! And that is one reason why this 
information of yours about the locksmith is going 
to give me an extremely busy afternoon. If it 
should presently appear that the burglary was an 
outside job it would hardly be fair to let Mr. Bron- 
son pay a large reward until we have exhausted 
every means of catching the thief. Don't you agree 
with me? ” 

“ No,” said Peters still more slowly. “ I don't.” 

“ You don't! ” 

“ No, sir,” repeated the butler firmly. “ In my 
opinion the ruby is the more important no matter 
who the thief may be.” He indicated the letter that 
lay on his knee. “ You think this will turn out to 
be a genuine proposition? ” 

“ I haven't the slightest doubt that it will,” re- 
sponded Traynor. “ I am confident that it rests 
with us to recover the jewel to-morrow morning — 
for twenty-five hundred dollars. That is what I 
am now concerned with.” 

[ 269 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ It is worth twice that,” said Peters calmly. 
“ Isn’t it true, sir, that if you pass up this chance 
we may never see the ruby again — even if the 
burglar is caught? ” 

“ Yes. He would probably refuse to divulge its 
whereabouts if he were caught.” 

“ Then I should say, sir, that it would be much 
better to get the ruby and make sure of that, any- 
way. I’m absolutely certain that Mr. McKittrick 
would much rather get back his ruby than jail a 
half dozen crooks.” 

“ No doubt you are qualified to speak for him,” 
said the detective drily, and again he gave a fleeting 
smile such as had embarrassed the butler once be- 
fore. “ Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll get busy on 
your eleventh hour news; I’d very much liked to 
have had it a little sooner, but, even now, it may 
still prove valuable.” 

Peters accepted his dismissal and rose at once. 
Traynor was no less courteous to him than he had 
been to Jerry Bronson; he ushered him from the 
inner office, through the outer, and had his hand on 
the knob of the door leading to the hall when the 
butler checked their progress with a movement of 
[ 270 ] 


A Clue to the Thief 


his arm. He was no longer able to hold back the 
question that had trembled on his tongue through- 
out their interview. 

“ A moment, Mr. Traynor! Will you please tell 
me — ” 

The sudden dashing open of the hall-door beside 
them cut short his words. Both he and Traynor 
were startled by the abrupt entrance of a breezy, 
well-dressed young man who came in so energetically 
that he almost collided with them before catching 
himself up. He grinned apologetically, and a slight 
flush at his awkwardness suffused his clean-shaven 
cheeks. 

“ I beg your pardon, Jimmy ! ” he cried. “ I was 
in a hurry — ” 

“ Astute detective that I am,” interrupted Tray- 
nor with a laugh, “ I had guessed as much! George, 
this is Peters, the butler in the Bronson case of 
whom you have heard me speak; Peters, this is 
Mr. Foster, one of my partners.” 

The partner covered the butler with a sharp glance. 

“ Glad to meet you, Peters.” Foster shot out a 
quick hand, which the butler grasped heartily. 

“ And I’m glad to meet you, sir!” answered 
[ 271 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


Peters. He turned to Traynor. “ I expect I’ll be 
off now, sir.” 

“ Hold on! Weren’t you about to ask me some- 
thing? ” 

“ It wasn’t anything important, sir,” answered the 
butler easily. “ Good-afternoon, Mr. Traynor.” 


[ 272 ] 


Chapter Eighteen 


BETSY BELLE’S WHISKER 

I T WAS about four o’clock when Peters left the 
detective’s office, and for nearly two hours after 
that he was an exceedingly busy man. It was past 
six when he reached the house at Claredale, where, 
as was not unusual, he found all of the family 
absent. He changed his clothes as quickly as pos- 
sible and was downstairs again, setting the table for 
dinner, when the telephone rang. He went into the 
library to answer it. 

“ Hello! That you, Peters?” 

" Yes, sir.” 

“ This is Mr. Traynor speaking.” 

“ Yes, sir. Mr. Bronson isn’t home yet. Can I 
take any message? ” 

“ No — it’s to you that I want to speak. About 
that locksmith.” 

“ Oh — yes, sir! ” 

“ I set to work on that clue as soon as you left 

[ 273 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


me, and with the help of a classified telephone direc- 
tory I was able to get a good deal of information. 
I found two locksmiths listed at Claredale, but I 
was lucky enough to get the right one first shot. 
The name of the firm is Johnson and Shaw — their 
regular business is general hardware, but they have 
a few side-lines like all country merchants. Shaw 
is dead, but I got Johnson on the wire and put the 
thing right up to him — Hello, can you hear me all 
right? ” 

“Perfectly, sir.” 

“ I told him, without going into details, that there 
had been a small robbery at Mr. Bronson’s, and 
that our suspicions had been excited by the behavior 
of one of his employees — whom he recognized from 
my description.” 

“ And what did he say, sir? ” asked Peters, as the 
other paused. 

“Well, Peters, I’m sorry to say that he was rude 
enough to laugh at our suspicions as if he consid- 
ered them an excellent joke. Then he told me that 
the man in question had been with him nearly a 
year, that he came very well recommended, that he 
is a good workman, and that his only failing is the 
[ 274 ] 


Betsy Belle’s Whisker 


one you noticed yourself — and which the Eight- 
eenth Amendment has not yet corrected! ” 

“ I see.” 

“ Moreover, when I mentioned the date of the 
theft, Johnson was able to refer to his books and 
tell me that our man was in New York that evening 
attending the wedding of his sister to a man named 
Svenson, and did not return to Claredale until the 
following noon. Of course I looked up the records 
here and found that such a marriage did take place 
on that date.” 

“ That sounds like a good alibi, sir.” 

“ So I think. But I haven’t told you all yet. 
Mr. Johnson surprised me by appearing to know all 
about the incident that has excited us; it seems that 
when his man came back to the store from Bristed’s, 
he was more sober and better-tempered than when 
you saw him, and he confessed to the mistake he 
had made; according to Johnson, he told the story 
as if he considered it a good joke on himself.” 

“ Oh!” 

“Yes. I must confess that last bit sounded 
pretty convincing to me. Not conclusive, perhaps, 
because a clever crook might have foreseen just such 
[ 275 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


an inquiry as this and have tried to forestall sus- 
picion.” 

“ He’d have to be a pretty cool hand to do that, 
sir.” 

“ I agree with you. Still, cool hands do exist, 
and I think it advisable to keep an eye on this chap. 
I hope to recover the ruby to-morrow, and after 
that, if we are lucky, our shadowing of him may 
enable us to lay him by the heels and get back the 
twenty-five hundred.” 

“ I certainly hope so, sir — and that I haven’t 
given you all this work for nothing.” 

“ We’ll see later. Meanwhile, give my regards to 
Mr. Bronson and tell him I expect to see him to- 
morrow about noon and return the ruby to him.” 

“ About noon? Very good, sir. I’ll tell him.” 

The butler hung up the receiver, and he had 
barely done so when Jerry Bronson entered the 
room. 

“Good-evening, Peters. Was that anything for 
me?” 

“ It was Mr. Traynor, sir. I went to see him this 
afternoon.” 

“The deuce you did! What about?” 

[ 276 ] 


Betsy Belle's Whisker 


Jerry settled into his chair and listened eagerly 
to Peters’ tale of the locksmith and of his two in- 
terviews with Traynor, the first in the detective’s 
office, and the second over the telephone. Bronson 
was greatly excited by the account. Like Traynor, 
he was first inclined to scold the butler severely for 
not having reported the matter before, but much of 
his irritation was forgotten in the dawn of a new 
hope that something had finally turned up that 
would not only absolve Sidney from any connection 
with the theft but would also definitely disprove 
the theory that it had been an inside job. The 
broker’s eye lighted with optimism. 

“ I have a feeling, Peters, that something will 
come of this! If we get back McKittrick’s ruby 
to-morrow it will be a great deal, but if we eventu- 
ally catch a professional crook for our thief it will 
make me happier than I’ve been in years! ” 

“Then I trust you will have your wish, sir,” 
murmured the butler earnestly. 

He slipped silently off to his duties in the pantry. 
He had been gone but a few minutes, and Jerry was 
still thoughtful over the news when Joan entered 
the library, still clad in her tennis costume and 
[ 277 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


swinging a racquet in her slender brown hand. She 
instantly noticed the new expression on Bronson's 
face. 

“ What’s up, Cousin Jerry? Good news?” 

“ I trust so, Joan ! ” 

He told her the whole story immediately, and the 
girl shared his pleasure when he told her of his 
premonition that this development would finally 
lift the cloud of suspicion from his household, — 
especially Sidney — 

“ Oh — Sidney! ” cried Joan with a touch of im- 
patience. “ I have told you all along, Cousin Jerry, 
what I think of that idea! You must know as well 
as I do that Sidney is no thief ! ” 

“Much obliged, Joan! Has someone been sug- 
gesting that I am? ” 

There was a sudden and unexpected interruption. 

Bronson sprang from his chair, and the girl turned 
sharply on her heel. Sidney Durant, having let 
himself into the house with his latch-key, was stand- 
ing in the doorway of the library, suitcase in hand. 
They stared at him as if he were a ghost. 

“ What’s the big idea? ” 

He put down the grip and came into the room, 
[ 278 ] 


Betsy Belle's Whisker 


glancing from one to the other of them expectantly. 
His face was pale, but no paler than might be an- 
ticipated in one who had just heard himself called 
a thief. He appeared, however, more curious than 
alarmed. “ Won't one of you tell me what it’s all 
about? You look now as if you were rehearsing 
the third act of a melodrama! ” 

Jerry Bronson, answering a mute appeal from 
Joan’s eyes, nerved himself to go through a trying 
ordeal. He managed to speak with due severity 
when he replied to his nephew’s plea for en- 
lightenment. 

“ You must realize, Sidney, that your actions 
leave much to be explained. No one is more loth 
than myself to believe ill of you, but your disappear- 
ance from this house, coming as it did simultane- 
ously with that of the ruby, was certainly rather 
queer on the face of it.” 

“ Ruby? ” repeated his nephew blankly. “ What 
ruby? ” 

“My Godfrey!” Bronson suddenly collapsed 
into his chair as he remembered that, if Sidney were 
innocent, he could never have even heard of the 
theft. He regarded his nephew sharply; the boy’s 
[ 279 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


air of astonishment was absolutely perfect — 
whether it was the result of conscious rectitude or 
of superlative acting was not easy to determine. 
Bartlett had said it would be easy to fix Sidney’s 
guilt or innocence by his bearing when accused — 
but, on the other hand, Traynor had warned him 
that the thief would probably boast of an unim- 
peachable alibi if he were ever caught. Jerry 
rubbed his head distressfully. The situation was 
too much for him. 

“ I’m beginning to think that I’m haunted by 
rubies,” said Sidney slowly, as his uncle showed no 
signs of speaking. “ There was a chap in Maines- 
ville who dam near talked my ear off about rubies.” 
He stared at Bronson thoughtfully. “ He said he 
was a jewelry salesman — but I’m beginning to 
wonder if he was a detective? ” 

“ He was,” said Jerry flatly. 

It was Sidney’s turn to sit down abruptly, his 
attitude suggesting that he was comprehending for 
the first time how serious had been the charge 
against him. His face was serious; nevertheless, 
when he spoke again, his voice was firm and not 
untinged with bitterness. 

[ 280 ] 


Betsy Belle's Whisker 


“ If you don’t mind, sir, I think it’s time we heard 
each other’s facts and stopped discussing our fancies. 
Hold on, Joan! Don’t go; stick around and let me 
feel that I have a friend at court! ” 

Joan gladly abandoned her tactful impulse to 
leave the other two alone; she infinitely preferred 
to stay and listen to this interview to getting it at 
second-hand afterwards from one of the principals. 
So she drew herself up on a corner of the safe, lit a 
cigarette, and prepared to listen attentively. 

No public prosecutor could have marshalled his 
points more relentlessly than did Jerry Bronson, 
partly because he wished to justify his suspicions, 
and partly because he wished to impress Sidney with 
the gravity of his position. He succeeded admir- 
ably in both respects. 

Many of the facts were new to Joan. Like Peters, 
she had never known of the existence of Maybelle 
Minnedinker, nor of the note that that financial 
genius of the chorus had held over his head. Now 
she heard all from beginning to end. She was 
amazed at the multitude of the small bits of evi- 
dence accumulated against Sidney, none conclusive 
in itself, but each contributing its share to the mass 
[ 281 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


of testimony against him. From the corner of her 
eye she watched his face, and she could tell by its 
steadily increasing pallor that the boy was shocked. 

“ Is that all? ” he demanded tonelessly, when 
Jerry had finally concluded his indictment. 

“All! Isn’t it enough? ” 

“ I should say it was! I didn’t take that ruby — 
but if I listen to you much longer, Uncle Jerry, I 
shall begin to think that I must have swiped it in 
my sleep, or something! ” 

The broker’s heart thrilled at the denial, but he 
was by no means prepared to display any gratifica- 
tion at a statement that, after all, he had expected. 

“ Well, Sidney, I have outlined the main points 
against you, and I’ll be very glad if you can explain 
them away. Can you? ” 

“ Of course I can ! And if I’m not altogether 
proud of some of my explanations, at least they 
don’t concern themselves with anything so con- 
temptible as the theft of jewelry from a man to 
whom I owe practically everything in the world! ” 
Joan gave a quick nod of approval, but, if Sidney 
saw it, he made no acknowledgment as he con- 
tinued: 


[ 282 ] 


Betsy Bellas Whisker 


“ I gather that the ruby disappeared on the night 
that I went for Dr. Strong, and afterward went to 
New York. Well, it’s true that I came into the 
library here to get the switch-key of the car, but 
even a monster of iniquity like myself is capable 
of feeling affection for a child, and I was a great deal 
too worried about Cicely to think of anything else. 
If I had noticed the ruby I would say so frankly, 
but it so happens that I just dashed in, grabbed 
the key, and rushed out again. That was the only 
time I was in this room that evening, and I 
repeat that I didn’t even see the ruby — let alone 
take it. 

“You remember we had our discussion about 
Maybelle late that same afternoon, and you can im- 
agine that I put in the rest of the day wondering 
rather desperately how I could escape the results of 
my idiocy. You had wine out for the Derwins, and 
I was in the humor to drink a good deal of it. After 
dinner I went to my room, where Peters brought 
me some soda-water and I had a couple of high-balls 
from a private bottle that I’d brought from New 
York. I had a third later on while waiting for 
Strong to conclude his visit, and then when I took 
[ 283 ] 


The Mystery oj the Twin Rubies 


him home, he insisted on my going in, when he 
hospitably offered me a glass of old cognac. Well, 
before I left him, I was ass enough to accept it — 
and then another: 

“ I started to drive back here, but it suddenly 
struck me that I still had time to get to the city and 
join the crowd that had expected me to dinner — 
I knew the night was still young for them. . . . 
Naturally I was pretty mellow by that time, so I 
drove to the station instead, caught the last train 
for town, and left the car for the garage to send back 
in the morning. My main idea, of course, was to go 
off on a party, and forget my troubles for awhile 
at least! 

“ I found my people all right, and among them 
was a chap who makes a pretty good thing out of 
playing the ponies. He was pretty well lit up, and, 
in a moment of alcoholic tenderness for me, he told 
me of a killing that had been arranged for the next 
day. By the way, in case you wish to check these 
statements, I’d better tell you now that the name of 
the horse was Betsy Belle — ” 

“ Eh? ” Jerry Bronson started in his chair. 
“ Betsy Belle! ” he murmured reminiscently. A 
[ 284 ] 


Betsy Belle’s Whisker 


rank outsider ; -won by a whisker at 25 to 1. You 
don’t get ’em like that every day ! ’ ” 

“ No, you don’t,” admitted Sidney after a moment 
of silent astonishment. “ But I didn’t expect you 
to know it.” He glanced somewhat cynically at his 
uncle. “ Is it possible that after — ” 

“ Kindly go on with your story,” commanded the 
broker stiffly. “ I can explain my knowledge later 
if I see fit.” 

“ Certainly, sir. Well, at this point I must admit 
that I broke the promise I had made you to abstain 
from gambling, a promise I had faithfully kept — 
er — that is, with the exception of the flyer in Wall 
Street which I didn’t think was a gamble! 

“ I gave my check for a hundred dollars to the 
chap who had tipped me off and asked him to place 
it for me on Betsy Belle the next day, as I hardly 
expected to get away from the office and down to 
the track myself. But, as it turned out, I did, and 
I never enjoyed anything in my life so much as 
watching that whisker of Betsy Belle’s, of which 
you speak, bringing me in twenty-five hundred dol- 
lars even quicker than I had lost it in the market. 
“ My friend promised to collect our winnings and 
[285] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


to notify me by telegram as soon as he had deposited 
a check for my share at my bank, and I returned 
to New York feeling like a king — and not particu- 
larly conscious-stricken either, I'm sorry to say! I 
had an excellent dinner took the train for Maines- 
ville, and received the telegram from my man the 
next day. I immediately sent my check to May- 
belle, and, a couple of days later, she returned my 
note. 

“ And that, Uncle Jerry, is the true and simple 
explanation of the circumstances that have appar- 
ently weighed against me most heavily in your 
mind." 

He ceased speaking, and for some moments no one 
broke the silence that followed on his words. Then 
Jerry drew a long breath. 

“ Sidney," he said gravely, “ you have told your 
story very well and very convincingly, and if I were 
to obey my first impulse I would apologize humbly 
for having done you an injustice. But before I do 
so, for my own peace of mind, and to the end that 
you may be entirely exonerated in the thoughts of 
everyone, including those detectives I had to em- 
ploy, I want to ask you whether you would resent 
[ 286 ] 


Betsy Belle's Whisker 


my doing just what you suggested a minute ago — 
that is, checking your statements? ” 

“ Resent it? On the contrary, sir, I will help you 
to do so to the best of my ability. And I certainly 
want no apology from you, no matter how thor- 
oughly I may convince you of your error, for I have 
at least sense enough to see that it was my own 
irresponsibilities in the past that led you to believe 
me capable of worse things when circumstances 
seemed to indicate me guilty.” He raised his head 
and looked proudly from Joan to his uncle. “ I 
think I may repeat now, sir, those words which seem 
to have caused you alarm before — that you will 
have no further concern on my behalf. 

“ I was ready enough to reform anyway, and the 
jolt that you have just given me this afternoon is 
quite sufficient to fix my determination. Add to 
that, I may say that I did pretty well up in Maines- 
ville, and I hope the Universal will hand me some- 
thing decent in the way of promotion — and I 
certainly don't want to lose their confidence by 
making an ass of myself outside office hours. So, 
if you’ll wipe off the slate, sir, and give me another 
chance — ” he hesitated, flushing. 

[ 287 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


Jerry Bronson stood up quickly. He advanced 
toward his nephew with shining eyes and out- 
stretched hand. “ My dear boy — ” 

“ Dinner is served, sir,” said the butler from the 
doorway. 

Jerry ate that dinner with a better appetite than 
he had known since he lost the ruby. The change 
in his spirits was further exemplified in his library 
afterwards, when he was able to give his undivided 
attention to the papers which he had brought home 
according to custom. He hummed a tune as he 
worked, and when Peters came in at ten o’clock 
with the usual tray of glasses and ice-water, the 
broker was startled to find how the evening had 
flown. He looked up with a smile, and for an in- 
stant he was tempted to let the butler into the secret 
of his new-found content. However, he had never 
discussed with him the details of Sidney’s trans- 
gressions, so he satisfied himself now with merely 
clearing the boy’s name. 

“Er — Peters! No doubt you have gathered by 
implication that I have been inclined to suspect my 
nephew of — of things he could not possibly have 
done. In justice to him I feel I should tell you 
[ 288 ] 


Betsy Belle’s Whisker 


that he has absolutely cleared himself in my eyes. 
Absolutely! ” 

“ I never thought he had any share in the affair, 
sir, but I’m very glad if you’ve had that load taken 
off your mind. ,, 

The butler’s voice sounded tired; he spoke with- 
out enthusiasm — almost with indifference. 

Bronson glanced at him curiously, his spirits a 
trifle dashed by this lack of cordiality on the part of 
one whom he had hitherto found a sympathetic and 
understanding confidant. A little chilled, he took 
up his pen and turned again to his work. 

“ Well,” he remarked. “ Let’s pray that Traynor 
will be lucky to-morrow morning. We can all of 
us forget this wretched affair if we can only get back 
that damned ruby.” 

“ Oh — damn the ruby! ” 

For one instant Jerry was honestly convinced that 
he had heard an echo; then, it dawned on him that 
his library didn’t run to echoes. He started 
violently, and stared at Peters. 

“ What! ” he cried, his dignity outraged. “ What 
did you say? ” 

“ Well, you damned it first,” returned the butler 

[ 289 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


defensively. “ I’m sick of hearing of the thing, and 
I get more and more ashamed every time I think 
of the trouble I’ve brought to your house. Besides, 
I’ve got a right to damn the ruby if I choose. You 
see, it’s mine ” 

Jerry Bronson clutched at his hair — and finally 
found it. 

“What do — do you mean f” he gasped. 

" I’m McKittrick,” said the butler, bowing with 
an air of ironical deference. 


[ 290 ] 


Chapter Nineteen 


THE ARREST 

J ERRY BRONSON had received so many shocks 
during the past few weeks that he did not 
easily succumb to fresh ones ; he greeted his butler’s 
astonishing statement with a lifted eyebrow and a 
mild air of curiosity. 

“ You're Reginald McKit trick? Then why have 
you been posing in my house as a butler? ” 

“ Posing? ” repeated the other with emphasis. 
“I haven’t been posing! I’ve been a jolly fine 
butler, if I do say so myself! ” 

“ Oh, excuse me! ” murmured Jerry Bronson drily. 
“ Well, perhaps you will explain why you did such 
a fool thing — if there is any explanation.” 

“ Of course there is,” answered McKittrick, flush- 
ing a little at the older man’s tone. “ I am quite 
prepared to explain, sir, but if you’d prefer just my 
apologies and my immediate departure — ” 

It was Jerry Bronson’s turn to redden. He re- 
[ 291 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


membered that he himself had been in an apologetic 
mood in that same room only a few hours before — 
a fact that should have made him more cautious in 
his judgment of others. 

“ I am sorry I spoke so briskly,” he said. “ I'm 
sure you must have had a good reason for doing 
such a thing, and, entirely apart from whether or 
not you owe me an explanation, I confess I’m very 
curious to hear one.” 

“ Of course you are,” replied McKittrick, the re- 
sentment fading from his face, “ and I’m ready 
enough to tell you — ” 

“ Wait a bit! If it’s anything very long or com- 
plicated, I wish you’d bring me a high-ball before 
you start — a fairly stiff one.” 

“ Certainly, sir.” 

The erstwhile Peters started for the door, but 
before he had reached it, Bronson hopped from his 
chair and checked him with a hasty word. 

“ I'm forgetting — ! Sit down, Mr. McKittrick; 
it is for me to get it! ” 

“Oh — I say!” McKittrick looked distressed. 
“Please don’t rub it in, sir. Besides, I have dis- 
closed my identity only to you, and I am anxious 
[ 292 ] 


The Arrest 


that no one else should suspect it before I leave your 
house. I came as Peters, and I want to go as Peters. 
So please sit down yourself, sir, and let me continue 
to — to buttle.” 

“ Oh, well,” said Jerry, relapsing in his chair, 
“have it your own way — but in that case, you’d 
better bring two.” 

“Very good, sir — thank you, sir!” answered 
McKittrick with a smile. 

He was back in a surprisingly short time, as 
though he felt in some need of Jerry’s hospitality 
— but, brief as was the interval, it gave the broker 
time to recover his usual equanimity. He smiled 
not unkindly at the butler’s swift return. 

“ Now then,” he suggested, “ suppose you pull up 
that chair and tell me all about it.” 

McKittrick gladly obeyed. 

“ It’s not much of a story, sir. You know I’m a 
writer, and you probably know that writers have 
their ups and downs, and are not always in posses- 
sion of a very big bank balance. That was the 
position in which I found myself this spring. 

“ I have a book in the hands of a publisher but 
I won’t receive any royalties until it is issued this 
[ 293 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


fall, and the small sum that I received in advance 
had to go immediately to the payment of interest 
on a mortgage with which I am afflicted. You see, 
I happen to own a couple of small pieces of real es- 
tate that are at present just in the same case as my 
book — that is, they are unproductive for the mo- 
ment but should begin to pay dividends with the 
commencement of the fall renting season. 

“ So, I found myself pretty well busted, at least 
pro tem.y this spring, and when I saw your adver- 
tisement for a butler, it looked to me like a perfect 
sending from Heaven. It struck me that I had 
tumbled on a very brainy idea when I reflected that 
I could write myself an excellent reference, apply 
to you for the job, and settle myself for the summer, 
not only free from expenses, but with a chance to 
save a few dollars. The only weakness I could see 
in my scheme was that you might want to confirm 
Peters’ references by a personal interview with 
McKittrick, which would have done me in properly. 
But I know how careless most people are about en- 
gaging servants, and, as it turned out, you only 
telephoned me, and, as I was expecting that, I was 
all ready to deceive you by disguising my voice. 

[ 294 ] 


The Arrest 


“ This isn’t the first time I’ve taken a job, for that 
matter. In pursuit of material for my fiction I’ve 
turned my hand to a number of different things. 
I’ve been a miner, a stoker on a tramp, a ticket- 
chopper on the Subway, and a tattooed barker for 
a Coney Island side-show. At other times, during 
my periods of relative prosperity, I have employed 
butlers myself, and have often wondered while 
watching these engaging creatures if I couldn’t im- 
prove on them considerably. 

“ So those are a few of the considerations that 
made me answer your ad. I would pass the sum- 
mer earning money instead of spending it. I might 
perhaps pick up some fresh material for my work. 
I would repay you by being as good a butler as I 
could ; and I would leave you in the fall and resume 
my own life with the chances a thousand to one 
against our ever meeting again. 

“ I suppose everything would have worked out as 
I expected in nine cases out of ten, but the trouble 
in this one began on the evening when you produced 
the ruby that was so amazingly like mine. I was 
anxious to sell mine if I could get a decent price 
for it, and I would have been more than human if 
[ 295 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


I’d resisted the temptation to speak to you about 
it. I have cursed that impulse ever since, and when 
I think of all the grief that I’ve brought to you and 
yours as a result of my initial deception — well, sir, 
I can only beg your pardon as humbly as I know 
how.” 

McKittrick had made his statement as carefully 
as if he had been telling the story to a crowded 
courtroom, with a stern judge and jury listening to 
him preparatory to forming their verdict. He drew 
a long breath as he ended, and reached eagerly for 
the glass at his elbow. 

Jerry Bronson’s scalp had been thoroughly mas- 
saged during the recital ; his thinning locks stood up 
in odd little tufts as he answered McKittrick’s 
appeal for forgiveness. 

“ I think you regard your offence too seriously — 
er — Peters! I was only a stranger to you when 
you conceived your idea; you had no intention of 
injuring me; you could not have dreamed that any- 
thing but good could have come from your summer 
of service; and it seems to me that both you and I 
have been the victims of plain bad luck — for which 
my carelessness was responsible, by the way.” 
[ 296 ] 


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“ It’s mighty nice of you to look at it that way,” 
answered the younger man gratefully. “ It en- 
courages me to hope that I may prove to have been 
mistaken in another of my expectations, and that 
instead of parting as strangers we may yet become 
friends.” 

“ I rather think we shall,” responded Bronson 
meditatively, and reverted immediately to one detail 
of McKittrick's story that had impressed him 
hugely. “ You speak of having unproductive real- 
estate — where is it? ” 

“ In New York City.” 

“ In New York City! ” Jerry was frankly scan- 
dalized. “ Unproductive real-estate in New York 
City f ” He fixed the young man with a gaze far 
sterner than any he had ever bent upon his scape- 
grace nephew. “ Who's your idiotic broker? ” he 
snapped. 

“ Why — I — I haven't any. I've been managing 
things myself — ” 

“Oh!” said Jerry Bronson with rich meaning. 
He gave the potent monosyllable a moment to sink 
in, and then switched to another subject. “ What 
has suddenly induced you to tell me all this? If 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


you had kept silent I should never have guessed 
your identity.” 

“Possibly. But I have some reason to believe 
that Traynor knows who I am, and naturally Fd 
rather tell you myself than have the news come to 
you from him. In addition to that, I find myself 
compelled to leave you — and there are reasons why 
I should reveal the truth. This conversation, sir, is 
equivalent to my giving notice! ” 

“ Just my luck! ” grumbled Jerry. “ I shall find 
it hard to replace you, Peters, because, after all, 
you were a jolly fine butler — if you did say so 
yourself.” An observation that both appreciated. 
“ I suppose an employer is entitled to ask the reason 
for such an abrupt termination of a contract? ” 

“ I was coming to that, sir.” It seemed to be Mr. 
McKittrick’s evening to flush up. “ The fact is, 
I'm — er — going to England.” 

“ To England? ” repeated Jerry indifferently. 
“ Why England? ” 

“ Because that’s where — that’s where Wickle- 
combe is.” 

The simple words cracked a secret wide open. 

“Eh?” Jerry started, and suddenly read the 
[ 298 ] 


The Arrest 


truth in the other man’s eyes. “ Do you — do you 
— is it possible — ? ” 

“ I do, and it is,” answered McKittrick firmly. 
“ I’ve got trouble ahead of me, I know, and that is 
why I’m going to ask you to treat this conversation 
as confidential, at least until I leave the house. 
After that, if you want to tell her the truth, per- 
haps it would be as well, — and I will count on the 
steamer trip for an opportunity to convince her that 
I’m not — not given to this sort of masquerade as 
a habit.” 

It slowly dawned upon Jerry that his butler had 
actually fallen in love with his master’s cousin. He 
regarded McKittrick doubtfully. This was a new 
angle that warranted scrutiny. 

“ But have you any reason to believe that 
Joan — ? ” 

“None at all,” confessed the butler somewhat 
gloomily. “ Incidentally, Mr. Bronson, one of my 
reasons for telling you these things is that you are 
her nearest male relative — besides being her best 
friend. Before approaching her, I should like to 
know whether or not you would approve of me as a 
husband of — of her.” He achieved a feeble smile. 
[299 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ I’m not very wealthy, but anyway I’ve shown 
you that I can give myself an excellent character ! ” 

“ Um ... It is possible that Joan — a very level- 
headed young woman, my boy — may prove less 
credulous than I. At all events, I’m quite content 
to leave it to her. If you satisfy Joan, you will 
satisfy me.” 

“ That’s more than I could have expected from 
you under the circumstances,” said McKittrick, and 
again there was a note of gratitude in his voice. 
“ I’ll go ahead then on those lines and hope for 
the best.” 

The subject appeared to be closed, for the two 
were silent for a minute or so. Each was busy with 
his own thoughts, and it so happened that each 
voiced them simultaneously. 

“About that unproductive real-estate — ” began 
Jerry. 

“ What’s Wicklecombe like, do you suppose? ” 
mused McKittrick, and Jerry could not bring him 
back to such sordid matters as real-estate. 

Peters’ “ jolly fine butler ” justified the descrip- 
tion he had given of himself by being downstairs 
[ 300 ] 


The Arrest 


the next morning at a remarkably early hour. He 
opened the house as usual, did his customary sweep- 
ing and dusting with noiseless thoroughness, and 
finally betook himself to the library. It was one 
minute to six when he approached the telephone 
with a watchful eye, and it was exactly on the hour 
when he snatched the receiver from the hook lest 
the continued clatter of the bell should disturb the 
sleeping family. He drew up Jerry’s desk-chair with 
an inward blessing upon the man who had called up 
exactly at the moment he had promised. . . . 

“Yes, this is McKittrick speaking. Go ahead.” 

Whereupon the voice at the other end did go 
ahead, and to such effect that it was forty-five min- 
utes later when McKittrick replaced the receiver 
and leaned back in his chair with a sigh mingled of 
satisfaction and exhaustion. 

“Pwhew! Thank goodness I don’t get many 
calls like that! ” 

The morning passed slowly, while an air of ex- 
pectancy pervaded the whole household. Even Sid- 
ney caught the spirit of restlessness, and although 
he had not been puzzling his wits over the disap- 
pearance of the ruby as long as had the others, he 
[ 301 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


still waited no less eagerly than they for the prom- 
ised appearance of Traynor. Twelve o’clock came 
and went, however, without any sign of the detec- 
tive, and Bronson, on the porch, and McKittrick, in 
the pantry, began to wear expressions of concern. 
At twelve-thirty Jerry, for one, abandoned hope and 
went upstairs, wondering audibly why Traynor had 
not telephoned at least. Sidney went to his room 
and examined some long-neglected golf-clubs. No 
one noticed where Mrs. Bronson disappeared to. 
Joan, classing detectives and rubies together as nui- 
sances, went off to the garage to inspect a new family 
of kittens. 

Disappointment had followed fast upon expec- 
tation. 

Yet it was barely five minutes after this dispersal 
that “Peters ” broke his record from the pantry to 
the front door in response to the summons of its 
bell. His relief was manifest as his eyes rested upon 
the caller. 

“Mr. Traynor! Very glad to see you. We had 
all but given you up, sir.” 

“ I was detained,” answered the detective. He 
handed over his hat and stick with an amused 
[ 302 ] 


The Arrest 


twinkle in his blue eye. “ You’re still taking these 
— Peters? ” 

“ Oh, yes, though I have explained things to Mr. 
Bronson. Of course you have known all the time 
just who I was? ” 

“ All the time,” admitted the detective cheerfully. 
“ Ever since the first day I was here. Several of 
your books had your right name on the fly-leaf, 
which would have put me on the track even if your 
behavior had not. As a stage butler you would 
have been perfect, but, as the real article in real 
life, you were too darned good.” 

“ Thank you, sir. And of course you verified your 
suspicions?” 

“ Naturally. One of your books in the Public 
Library gave me the name of your publishers, and 
your publishers, in turn, were delighted to show an 
admirer the picture of that rising young author, 
Mr. Reginald McKittrick.” 

“I see,” acknowledged McKittrick a trifle drily. 
“You really do get your effects very simply — 
when they’re explained. It is really amazing how 
easy it is for you.” 

Traynor smiled. Without any further discussion 
[ 303 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


of his methods he strolled into the library, where 
he drew a small white box from his pocket. 

“You have it then?” asked McKittrick eagerly. 

“ Yes. Now, if you will be good enough to call 
Mr. Bronson, I will keep my promise to him by re- 
placing it in the exact spot whence it was taken.” 

The dutiful butler departed silently on his mis- 
sion. But it was not merely Jerry Bronson who an- 
swered that long-awaited summons. It was the en- 
tire household. By a whim of Jerry’s, even Mrs. 
O’Malley and Julia Shaughnessy passed him in the 
door before he entered himself — the housemaid 
pale and palpably nervous, though the kindly Mc- 
Kittrick had so far forgotten the dignity becoming 
in a butler to press her arm encouragingly and whis- 
per a few words of reassurance in her ear. She 
followed the redoubtable O’Malley into the farthest 
corner of the library, and there took refuge behind 
the concealing bulk of the queen of the kitchen. 

Traynor gave a little stare of curiosity at Sidney, 
whose identity he naturally guessed, although he 
had not been told before of the boy’s return. Sid- 
ney, on his part, favored the detective with a glare 
of sheer anger; the two might have spoken had not 
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The Arrest 


the breathless appearance of Joan diverted their at- 
tention from each other. The girl entered the room 
flushed and breathless, a tiny kitten clinging des- 
perately to her shoulder. The amateur butler, clos- 
ing the door into the hall, thought he had never 
seen her looking more lovely and found himself — 
certainly for the first time in his life — wishing that 
he were a little black kitten. 

Traynor greeted them all with a cheerful good- 
morning, and, catching Jerry’s eye, he waved his 
hand toward the desk. Bronson made the distance 
in a few quick steps and bent excitedly over the 
little white box that stood beside his inkwell. 

“ That’s it! ” he cried. “ Thank goodness, that’s 
it! ” He turned swiftly to Traynor. “ Tell us all 
about it! You had no trouble? I was a little 
worried about you when you were so late in getting 
here.” 

“ No trouble at all, sir. This is not the first time 
I’ve had to meet a crook, and it hasn’t differed 
materially from the usual sordid business. He kept 
me waiting a few minutes, doubtless to assure him- 
self that we were taking no undue advantage of 
him, and then he slipped quietly into the room 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


where I was seated. He had a drawn revolver in 
one hand — not taking any chances you see — and 
the ruby lying on the open palm of his other dirty 
paw. He was masked, of course, and he naturally 
never uttered a word for fear that I might subse- 
quently identify his voice. 

“ I was equally discreet. I counted out twenty- 
five hundred dollar bills before the slits in his mask, 
thrust them into one of his pockets, and lifted the 
ruby from his outstretched hand. Then he vanished 
as silently as he had come — and since we had 
agreed to give him a safe-conduct, he may be go- 
ing yet for all I know.” 

“ But he might have shot you and kept the 
ruby and the money both! ” cried Joan, her eyes 
wide open. 

“ And risk being caught and hanged for murder? ” 
laughed the detective. “ Whoever he is, this fel- 
low is no such fool as that! ” 

Jerry drew a wallet from his pocket and 
extracted a slip of paper which he handed to Tray- 
nor. The detective glanced at it quietly, then 
flushed with pleasure and spoke impulsively. 

“This is very generous, sir — ” 

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The Arrest 


Jerry silenced him with a wave of his hand. 

“ Nonsense. I am deeply indebted to you.” He 
picked up the box containing the ruby, regarded the 
jewel lovingly for an instant, then turned and placed 
it in the butler’s hand. “ Here,” he said. “ Let 
this close a most regrettable incident — and never 
again leave me in charge of anything that you 
value! ” 

A sharp ejaculation burst from Sidney’s lips. 

“ I’m sorry you consider the incident closed, Uncle 
Jerry! ” He flashed an angry glance at the detec- 
tive, who met it calmly. “ Do you mean to 
say, Mr. Traynor, that you will consider this case 
as finished without making any further effort to 
discover the thief? ” 

“ Yes, I mean just that,” returned Traynor. His 
eyes were almost contemptuous as they met the 
young man’s challenging gaze. “ Remember, please, 
that I am acting under your uncle’s orders, in the 
first place. In the second, it is my profound con- 
viction that, even if we laid our hands on the thief, 
he would have provided himself with such an ex- 
cellent alibi that any case we might bring against 
him would break down from lack of proof. Under 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


these circumstances it would be a foolish waste of 
time and money to pursue the matter further — so 
I think I may say definitely that we will never know 
who stole Mr. McKittrick’s ruby.” 

Sidney opened his lips to make some retort, but 
checked his words at an abrupt and unexpected in- 
terruption. Every member of the household was in 
the library, and every one of them started visibly 
at the sound of a loud knock on the door leading 
from the hall — everyone excepting the impassive 
Peters, who walked to the door and flung it open. 

Something like a gasp went up from those gath- 
ered in the library at sight of the figure revealed in 
the opening; it was that of a thick-set, powerfully 
built man with heavy moustaches, plain, ill-fitting 
clothes, a pair of feet whose immensity staggered 
belief, and a rusty, battered derby that he instantly 
removed as the door opened. Set in his heavy face 
were a pair of sharp eyes that looked as if they 
might be cruel on occasion, but now only held a 
light of amused, almost good-natured, triumph. 

Some instinct told them at first glance what he 
was, though most of them had never before seen this 
stolid figure of romance in the flesh. The majority 
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The Arrest 


of them thrilled in every fibre, as at an unexpected 
climax in the progress of some melodrama, but to 
one in that room the sinister apparition in the door- 
way brought only an agonizing pang of fear. Mrs. 
O’Malley felt herself clutched desperately from be- 
hind, heard a choking cry of terror, and turned to 
catch Julia Shaughnessy’s drooping figure before it 
sank to the floor. 

It is quite possible that the new-comer may have 
been aware of the mingled sensations caused by his 
unexpected appearance, but, if so, he did not in- 
dicate it by any visible sign. He was there to do 
his duty, and once his gimlet eyes had fixed them- 
selves upon their victim they never swerved to left 
or right. 

He advanced slowly into the room, and uttered 
no word until he stood face to face with his shrink- 
ing prey. Then he smiled, not unpleasantly. 

“ The game’s up ! ” he said grimly. “ I want you, 
Jimmy Traynor! ” 


[ 309 ] 


% 








Chapter Twenty 


THE RUBY’S DESTINY 

T HE incident was over in two minutes. Either 
Traynor guessed that the game was really 
“ up ” as the Central Office man had stated, or else 
he decided that any preliminary fuss would be as 
futile as it would be undignified, and determined to 
reserve his defense for a more important audience. 
At all events, he rose to his feet after the first shock 
of surprise, nodded and shrugged his shoulders, and 
led the way from the library without a word or a 
glance for the speechless members of the Bronson 
household. Close at his heels, a wary eye on his 
catch, went the plain-clothes man. The butler 
hesitated for an instant, then followed them from 
the room, and eventually accompanied them out of 
the house and to the station. 

He returned to find Jerry Bronson alone in the 
library, his slim hair very much on end and his 
eyes still testifying to the amazement that possessed 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


him. Part of this was due to the unexpected arrest 
of his own private detective, and part to the fact 
that his wife had just slipped down from Julia’s 
room, where she and Joan had been caring for the 
frightened, hysterical girl, and had confided to her 
husband such details of the girl’s past- as Julia had 
insisted upon telling. Even the kindest-hearted 
and most humane of men, especially if he is the 
owner of a fine collection of rubies, must experi- 
ence an unpleasant shock when he discovers that 
one of his servants is an “ old offender.” 

“ For goodness’ sakes, Peters — McKittrick — 
will you? ” 

“ Yes, sir? ” 

“Will you please explain to me what has just 
happened? That is, if you know yourself.” 

“ I think I know pretty well, Mr. Bronson. I 
might have told you some of it last night but I 
didn’t want to arouse expectations that the morn- 
ing might possibly not fulfill.” 

He paused, as if to collect his thoughts, and Jerry 
Bronson threw in a quick question. 

“But look here, — er — Peters; have the police 
any real proof of Traynor’s guilt? It seems incred- 
[ 312 ] 


The Ruby's Destiny 


ible that the very man I employed to catch the 
thief should prove the thief himself. Isn’t that 
what you novelists call stretching the arm of co- 
incidence? ” 

“ It would seem so, but of course you know that 
there’s far more rough stuff in fact than is ever al- 
lowed in fiction. Yes, the police have ample proof. 
They raided the offices of Traynor, Foster and 
Henderson this morning as soon as Traynor had 
left them to come here, and they found enough 
evidence in that big safe to convict a dozen gangs, 
let alone one. Then Foster’s wife . . .You may 
have noticed a woman in the outer office — ? ” 

“ A dark-haired girl, with a rather hard face? ” 

“ That’s the one. Well, she confessed, hoping to 
reap her ignoble reward for her husband and her- 
self when the sentences begin to drop. That 
clinched things, though the police had a pretty 
strong case anyway.” 

“ How did you learn all this? ” 

“ McCarthy — he’s the chap who was here this 
morning — just told me. He shadowed Traynor 
from the office, but when they reached the Claredale 
station he stopped long enough to telephone Head- 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


quarters and post himself on the latest develop- 
ments.^ 

“ I see. And who brought in the police to start 
with?” 

“ I did — yesterday afternoon. I guessed the 
truth when I was in Traynor’s offices, and I went 
direct to Police Headquarters. But it seemed just 
as incredible to me as it does to you, and on the way 
up I decided to play safe. So I only asked for Mc- 
Carthy, whom I had met once before, and told him 
just what I knew and what I suspected, and then 
waited for him to say I was crazy. But he didn’t. 
You know, we amuse ourselves by poking fun at the 
Police, but in reality they are nobody’s fools. They 
had had their eye on Traynor, Foster and Henderson 
for some time, and were only waiting for something 
definite in the way of evidence and identification. I 
blundered in with just what they wanted, and 
then the cat stopped watching the mouse — and 
pounced.” 

Jerry ruffled around for his hair. 

“ I do wish you would start at the beginning and 
tell me everything,” he said plaintively. “Were 
these people detectives, or only crooks? ” 

[ 314 ] 


The Ruby’s Destiny 


“ They were both. That was the chief beauty of 
their scheme. On the one hand they ran a perfectly 
legitimate detective business, and the police them- 
selves give them credit for being one of the best of 
the private firms. On the other hand, they planned 
and executed a steady series of burglaries with such 
consummate cunning as to defy detection. 

“ Your having engaged Traynor was not such a 
coincidence as you imagine. Your attention was 
called to them by the use of circulars, was it not? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“No doubt you thought your circular was one of 
thousands. As a matter of fact, it wasn’t. As soon 
as they perfected their arrangements to rob this 
house they began mailing you their business card 
— just often enough to fix themselves in your mind 
against the time when you might decide to call in a 
private detective.” 

“The clever scoundrels! ” 

“ Exactly. First, they would rob the house and 
possess themselves of the loot. Then, if their luck 
was in, they would be retained by you to investigate 
the case at a handsome fee for their services. If you 
didn’t engage them, they were only out a few post- 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


age stamps. Neat, wasn’t it? But, as you know, 
their scheme went even farther than that. Once 
in possession of the rubies, they had two strings to 
their bow. They could either dispose of them cau- 
tiously, if it seemed best, or return them to you 
provided you offered a sufficiently attractive reward. 

* Safety first ’ was their motto always, and they 
usually ‘ found ’ missing stuff and restored it to the 
marveling owner — who paid up at once, and 
advertised Traynor, Foster and Henderson as being 
stars of the first magnitude! ” 

Jerry Bronson, recalling the eulogies of General 
Prescott, gave a sudden chuckle. How the General 
would puff and fume — ! 

“ They had planned an extensive campaign 
against the wealthy residents of Claredale, accord- 
ing to Mrs. Foster’s confession. That was why her 
husband was planted down here nearly a year ago, 
in the guise of a locksmith. He used the same 
method in one other instance as he did in our case 
— that of taking a lock to pieces and then apolo- 
gizing for his ‘ mistake.’ But usually he waited 
his opportunity and took impressions while engaged 
on legitimate errands. The police found in the 
[ 316 ] 


The Ruby's Destiny 


safe a number of duplicate keys, all neatly labelled 
against the day — or night, rather — when circum- 
stances seemed propitious for their use.” 

“ Beautiful ! ” murmured Jerry reluctantly. “ So 
it was the locksmith after all.” 

“ Not literally. Foster took the impression, but 
they were too clever not to guard against his being 
suspected. So he passed the duplicate key to Tray- 
nor, and on the night of the theft Foster himself 
went to New York and provided himself with an 
alibi that would stand the acid test of any cross- 
examination. He went to a funeral, to be exact. 

“ Traynor motored from New York — you see, 
they didn't even risk a strange face being noted by 
the night-men on duty at the railroad station — 
and parked his car somewhere while he recon- 
noitred the house. At least, I suppose he did, for 
the details of that night's business have not yet 
been definitely ascertained, and I am only recon- 
structing events as I assume they must have hap- 
pened. . . . 

“ He must have found the house in darkness 
when he arrived. I was awake in my bed, but my 
light was out and I was trying to get to sleep ; Miss 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


Ayres was sitting up with Cicely, but I have heard 
her say that she had the light in that room shaded, 
and the curtains drawn, so of course Traynor could 
see nothing from outside. 

“ He opened the front door with his duplicate key, 
entered, and shut the door behind him, quite sat- 
isfied that he had made no sound and had nothing 
to fear. He knew where the library was located — 
Foster would have told him that — and went di- 
rectly there. I imagine his first action was to sweep 
the room with his electric torch, just to make sure 
of his bearings, and probably it was at that 
moment that he saw the ruby lying on your desk. 
Can’t you see him chuckling as he put it in his 
pocket? He must have thought it an auspicious 
start! 

“ Naturally, the safe and your collection of rubies 
was his real objective; my solitary stone was merely 
an incidental bit of good luck! 

“ It was the last piece of good fortune he was to 
have. We did not find any marks on the safe, so it 
is reasonable to suppose that something interrupted 
him before he could even start work. That some- 
thing must have been my insomnia. Probably he 
[ 318 ] 


The Ruby's Destiny 


heard me coming down the stairs and had ample 
time to conceal himself before I entered the library 
in search of the book you had told me I could have. 

Then as soon as I was out of the way, he may have 
heard Miss Ayres retreating from her post of ob- 
servation on the front stairs to her place by the 
chikTs bed. 

“ No doubt he decided then that prudence was 
the better part of valor, and a ruby in the pocket 
worth more than a score in the safe. A more reck- 
less burglar might have waited until the house was 
quiet once again and gone on with his work, but, 
as I have said, Traynor and his pals owed their 
security to their caution. So he slipped out of the 
front door, closing it softly behind him, and went 
back to New York as he had come, in his car. He 
probably figured on returning some night in the 
future for the rest of your collection ! 

“ After that, everything played right into his 
hands from the moment you engaged his services 
up to the time you offered a handsome reward for 
the ruby. He could even count implicitly on your 
objection to calling in the police, since he had found 
out in some way that you suspected Sidney — ” 
[ 319 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Found out! ” broke in Jerry Bronson bitterly. 
“ He didn’t have to find out! I just walked in and 
told him! ” 

“ Of course, the twenty-five hundred and no ques- 
tions asked was obviously the better of his two 
strings in this case. He advertised as directed, wrote 
himself that note for that fictitious appointment, 
and carried the whole business off like the consum- 
mate actor that he is.” 

The butler paused again. Jerry regarded him 
thoughtfully. 

“ You seem to have figured it out pretty well — 
er — Peters! By the way, you must have had a 
few anxious moments after you decided that Julia, 
in spite of her record, had nothing to do with the 
theft. Didn’t you? ” 

The younger man, taken off his guard, started 
visibly. 

“ Julia? ” he repeated ingenuously. 

“ Oh, you needn’t look so innocent! You noticed 
that she collapsed when your friend McCarthy, 
whom she instinctively recognized as a detective, ap- 
peared in that doorway? Poor girl, she must have 
thought he’d come for her! Anyway, when my 
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The Ruby's Destiny 


wife and Joan got her upstairs and she quieted down 
a bit, she insisted upon telling them everything — 
including the fact that she had told you of her past.” 

“ I’m glad she did. She’ll be easier in her mind, 
and — you won’t let it make any difference in her 
place here, will you? ” 

“My dear boy!” expostulated Jerry mildly. 
“ I’m not a brute.” 

“ I beg your pardon,” said the other contritely. 
“ To answer your question, no, I didn’t have any 
doubts as to the decision I had made. She had 
absolutely convinced me that she was honest now, 
no matter what her past record may have been. 
She told you about the crippled sister in England, 
I suppose? I’ll make a point of looking her up 
while I’m over there and — and see what I can do.” 

“ You mean the operation? It’s understood that 
I foot the bills.” 

“ Not at all,” protested the butler. “ I saw her 
first.” 

“ Julia is under my protection while here,” said 
Jerry Bronson with dignity, “ and her responsi- 
bilities are to a certain extent mine.” 

“ Call it fifty-fifty,” suggested the writer amiably. 

[ 321 ] 


The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ Done,” said Jerry Bronson. “ And now that 
that’s settled, go on with your story of the interest- 
ing Mr. Traynor.” 

“ But I’ve told you everything! Except one 
thing, which is a point you didn’t know about. Did 
Julia say anything about some papers of hers that 
I burned? ” 

“Yes, I believe she did.” 

“Well, Traynor learned of that and mentioned 
it to me, and I have lain awake nights wondering 
how he knew, because the burning took place before 
he even knew of the case. The explanation now is 
obvious. His partner, Foster, must have kept an 
eye on the house the morning after the theft, just to 
see how things were going, and I suppose he met 
Traynor and told him of what I’d done. It had me 
badly puzzled.” 

“ I also wondered why he had not given away 
my real identity to you. Oh, yes, he tumbled to that 
at once ! Found my name on the fly-leaves of some 
books I had, and guessed the truth. By Jove — ! ” 
McKittrick suddenly struck his knee softly. “ It 
has just occurred to me! He must have gone to my 
apartment and searched it, looking for something 
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The Ruby’s Destiny 


to confirm the truth, and it was he who put my lock 
out of whack. That was what first made me think 
of the locksmith. And, in the light of his character 
as we know it, I see that he kept silent in the hope 
that there was some disgraceful reason for my being 
here as a butler. If there had been, and he had 
learned it, no doubt he would have tried blackmail! 
Yes, that must be it! So now every point is clear.” 

“ Indeed? ” Jerry’s tone was grim. “ I suspect 
that after the manner of your kind, you’re working 
your story up to a climax! ” 

“ Climax? ” The writer was honestly puzzled. 

“ You’ve told me everything except how you 
guessed the truth.” 

“ Oh — that! ” The butler gave a little laugh. 
“ I wish it were something that would redound to 
the credit of my intelligence, or to the remarkable 
acuteness of my detective genius, but as a matter of 
fact it was just sheer, dumb luck. It is only inter- 
esting as being an example of the negligible, un- 
considered trifle that will inevitably, be it soon or 
late, trip up the brainiest and most cautious crook. 
If you will study the annals of crime — ” 

“ I won’t, ” said Jerry crossly. “ What was it? ” 
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“ After I had told Traynor about my suspicions 
of the locksmith, I said good-by to him; but he 
followed me to the outer office for a last word, and 
while we were talking by the door it opened abruptly 
and a man came in. It was Foster, and when Tray- 
nor introduced us, he held out his hand and shook 
mine. Of course he looked as much unlike a lock- 
smith as possible, but when he stuck out his arm, 
his wrist came well out of his sleeve — and high 
up on it I saw a mole. A peculiar blue-black star- 
shaped mole, such as I had noticed on the arm of the 
man who had repaired your front-door — by 
mistake! ” 

“ My golly! ” 

“ Funny, isn’t it, what a whale of a difference a 
small thing can make? I was suspecting the lock- 
smith, and when I practically spotted the locksmith 
in Foster, the rough outline of their whole scheme 
flashed into my head. The police just filled in the 
details. So now Jimmy Traynor, in spite of all his 
brains and cleverness, is kicking his heels in jail 
because he never appreciated the importance of a 
mole on his partner’s wrist! ” 

That jolly fine butler, Peters, going about his 
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legitimate business that afternoon, was presently- 
struck by a certain eccentricity in the behavior of 
Miss Joan Ayres. The girl appeared restless, with 
a restlessness that was seemingly connected in some 
vague way with himself. She was in the library 
when some errand took him there, and before he 
more than had time to realize her presence she had 
quietly got up and slipped from the room; she 
crossed the hall and settled herself afresh in the 
drawing-room. When he had occasion to betake 
himself there, he was just in time to see the flutter 
of a white skirt before it vanished through the 
French window that led to the broad veranda. It 
was some minutes before he could think of anything 
to do there, and when he did, Miss Ayres found it 
urgently necessary to re-enter the house and ascend 
to Mrs. Bronson’s sitting-room on the second floor. 

A dark suspicion grew and flourished in the jolly 
fine butler’s brain. It was some little time before he 
caught Jerry Bronson by himself, but then he turned 
a stern, accusing eye upon the old gentleman. 

“ Look here ! ” he hissed. “ Have you told any- 
one who I am? ” 

“ Certainly not! ” answered Jerry, virtuously in- 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


dignant. “ Didn’t I promise I wouldn’t? I haven’t 
said a word to a soul — that is — er — except my 
wife. Naturally — ” 

“ Oh, is that all! ” From the secure pinnacle of 
his bachelor freedom, young Mr. McKittrick bent 
a pitying look upon this elderly matrimonial slave. 

Before he could give utterance to the thoughts 
that filled his breast, the sound of a distant bell 
automatically put the butler’s legs in motion. He 
left Jerry looking embarrassed and feebly toying 
with his thinning locks, and hastily repaired to the 
pantry in order to consult the indicator. It was 
Mrs. Bronson who had rung, and the still fluttering 
disk showed that his presence was immediately re- 
quired in her sitting-room. 

He obeyed its summons a little more slowly than 
was his wont. As he came into the room, he was 
aware of a flicker of white disappearing through a 
doorway on the opposite side. The door was firmly 
shut behind it. 

He found Mrs. Bronson seated in exactly the 
same attitude as on that morning when he had 
discovered her in the act of settling her bridge debts. 
She had just finished writing a check, and she 
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blotted it carefully before turning to the attentive 
figure at her elbow. 

“ Peters,” she began slowly, “ Mr. Bronson tells 
me that you are leaving us to-day.” 

“ That is true, ma’am,” answered the butler re- 
gretfully. “ I’m sure I’m very sorry, ma’am, but 
circumstances over which I have no control — ” 

“ But which you presently hope to have some 
control over — ! ” Mrs. Bronson glanced at the 
door which had been so firmly shut, and a mischiev- 
ous smile twitched at the corners of her pretty lips. 
“ You needn’t explain, Peters; I understand per- 
fectly! ” She suddenly held out the check she had 
been writing, and her voice became severely busi- 
ness-like. “This is for your services to date; I 
think you will find it correct.” 

“ Oh, — I say ! ” The young man flushed. 
“ After all the trouble I have caused you — ” 

“ Nonsense.” She continued to hold out the slip 
of paper, and he reluctantly accepted it, mentally 
determining to endorse it to the first charity that 
crossed his path. “ Anyway,” continued Mrs. 
Bronson, regarding him thoughtfully, “ I’m not 
at all sure that this business hasn’t been of some 
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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


good to us. Isn’t there something in the Bible 
about plucking the flower safely from the nettle 
danger? ” 

“Either the Bible or Shakespeare — I forget 
which,” he replied tactfully. 

“ Well, it doesn’t matter. . . . The point is that 
the disappearance of your ruby, trying as it was, 
indirectly accomplished a number of good things. 
Jerry is much more careful where he leaves things, 
Julia will be happier now that she has no secrets 
to conceal, Sidney acts as if his reformation might 
be permanent this time, and I — I am not going to 
play bridge for points any more! ” She smiled at 
his look of guilt. “ Yes, it wasn’t difficult to guess 
that it was you who told that awful Traynor 
creature about my debts! ” 

“ My motives were good,” he pleaded uncomfort- 
ably, “ though I won’t be surprised if you disbelieve 
me. You see, I was afraid that he’d find out about 
your bridge and go rushing off to Mr. Bronson, 
whereas if I told him myself there was a chance 
that — everything could be settled between us three 
without bothering him. Goodness knows, he had 
plenty enough to bother him. It — it was impertinent 
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of me ... I see that now, but I really meant to act 
for the best — ” 

“ It wasn’t impertinent at all,” she cut in. “ On 
the contrary, I think it was remarkably kind and — 
considerate of you, under the circumstances. In case 
you have any curiosity in the matter, I may as well 
tell you now that I got clear of my debts with the 
money that I borrowed from my sister, when I went 
to visit her. ...” Mrs. Bronson became faintly 
meditative. “ Anyway, you don’t owe me any apolo- 
gies, because I told Mr. Traynor that I suspected 
you! ” 

“ And a very sensible suspicion it was,” he assured 
her cheerfully. “ Butlers are not supposed to go 
around offering their former master’s jewels for 
sale; I’m only surprised that you didn’t have me 
pinched at once! ” 

“ Well,” she said, “ I’m glad we’ve had this little 
talk, and I’ll forgive your suspicions as — as you for- 
give mine! By the way, what are you going to do 
with that ruby now you have it back? ” 

“ Why, I — er — ” In spite of himself, his eyes 
strayed to the closed door. “I — I was thinking of 
having it set as — an engagement ring — ” 

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The Mystery of the Twin Rubies 


“ I might have known! ” cried Mrs. Bronson, and 
gave a soft sigh for her lost ear-rings. “ Oh — now 
that you have ceased to be Peters and become Mr. 
McKittrick, won’t you stay here for dinner this 
evening? ” 

“Why — why, thanks, but I — ” He hesitated, 
stammering. 

His hostess smiled, and it was her turn to glance 
at the closed door. 

“ If you will,” she said graciously, “ I can assure 
you that we shall all be delighted! ” 


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